cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Relationship of intermediate and low-density lipoprotein subspecies to risk of coronary artery disease

Abstract Recent studies have shown that heterogeneity of human plasma low-density lipoproteins (LDL) is, in part, the result of production of different LDL products from two subspecies of intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDL). Cholesterol-enriched forms of both IDL species are found in plasma of patients with atherogenic dyslipidemias (familial hypercholesterolemia and type 3 hyperlipoproteinemia) and have physical properties similar to the major species in plasma of cholesterol-fed monkeys. Patients with familial combined hyperlipidemia have been shown to have increased plasma levels of IDL and of a smaller, denser LDL subclass (LDL-IIIA) that appears to be a metabolic product of the smaller IDL subspecies. Results from the NHLBI Type II Coronary intervention study have supported a link between the small IDL-LDL pathway and coronary disease, In that 2-year changes in levels of these species were associated with disease progression. Furthermore, therapeutic reductions in IDL levels were correlated with increases in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Thus variation in IDL levels might influence coronary disease risk by both a direct effect and indirectly by affecting LDL particle number and possibly high-density lipoprotein metabolism.
Translational Models of Dopaminergic Mechanisms for Motivational Deficits in Anhedonic Patients

Anhedonia is a core symptom of multiple psychiatric disorders, the neurobiological substrates of remain poorly understood. Despite significant preclinical advances in the identification of specific sub-components of reward processing, clinical definitions of anhedonia primarily emphasize reductions in pleasure and positive emotionality, while impaired motivation is often neglected. Here, we review recent evidence suggesting that motivational deficits may reflect an important dimension of symptomatology that is discrete from traditional definitions of anhedonia in terms of both behavior and pathophysiology. In summarizing this work, we highlight the use of translational models such as effort-based decision-making as important tools for elucidating the biological basis of motivational deficits in clinical populations. Finally, we touch on some of the implications of this work for improving diagnosis and treatment.
Temporal Evolution of Intraparenchymal Hyperdensity After Intra-arterial Therapy in Patients with Ischemic Stroke: Optimal Discrimination Between Hemorrhage and Iodinated Contrast

Purpose CT hyperattenuation arising from iodinated contrast has a different temporal evolution than that arising due to hemorrhage. This paper presents a method for optimal discrimination between hemorrhage and iodinated contrast in a postintervention CT in stroke patients.
The changing face of burn care: the Adelaide Children's Hospital Burn Unit: 1960-1996.

There have been considerable changes in burn care since the inception of the Adelaide Children's Hospital Burn Unit in 1960, resulting in a marked improvement in both morbidity and mortality. A burn of 30% T.B.S.A. is no longer considered life threatening, whilst a burn of 80% T.B.S.A. is now not only expected to survive, but to have a satisfactory functional and cosmetic outcome. An outline of these changes, as reflected in a review of 37 years of care, is discussed with particular reference to the improvements in scar management.
100 eV electron impact excitation spectra of 1,3,5-hexatriene

Abstract The singlet-singlet transitions from 2 to 16 eV of 1,3,5-hexatriene have been studied by electron impact spectroscopy using 100 eV electrons and scattering angles from 0 to 28°. Transitions are observed at about 5.1, 6.2, 6.9, 8.0, 9.4 and 10.7 eV. Tentative evidence for a transition at about 4.4 eV is also given. Comparison with optical data in the 5 to 8 eV range is excellent and confirms some previously uncertain results. The angular variation of the spectral intensity indicates that all of the observed transitions in the 6 to 10 eV range gain most of their intensity from transition moments which are of higher order than electric dipole.
Effects of Selenium, Vitamins, and Ration Fiber on Placental Retention and Performance of Dairy Cattle,

One hundred and twenty Holstein cows were assigned to a randomized complete block design to determine effects of selenium, vitamins, and ration fiber on incidence of placental retention and other health and reproductive problems. The selenium treatment (50 mg selenium, 680 IU vitamin E) was administered as a single injection approximately 3 to 4 wk prepartum. The vitamin treatment (3 million IU vitamin A, 450,000 IU vitamin D3, 300 IU vitamin E) consisted of two injections, one administered at 3 to 4 wk prepartum and another at 2 to 3 wk postpartum. Fiber treatments were: control, 15.7% crude fiber; beet pulp, 19.3% crude fiber; and soyhull, 19.0% crude fiber. Feeding of experimental rations was begun 1 day postpartum, and the ration effect on placental retention was examined only at subsequent parturition. The overall placental retention rate of 28% was not affected by either selenium, vitamin, or combined treatments. Ration treatments did not affect the placental retention rate of 42% at subsequent parturition. Cows receiving the soyhull ration required fewer services per conception. Incidence of foot problems tended to be higher in the cows that received the combined selenium and vitamin A, D, E treatments. Supplemental selenium, vitamins A, D, and E, and ration fiber treatments did not reduce incidence of placental retention or improve most other health and reproductive measures.
A morphological and histochemical study of the reproductive system of the slug, Philomycus carolinianus (Bosc)

Glycogen, determined by Best's carmine and/or PAS Tripas staining, and alkaline phosphatase, determined by the Gomori technic, occur together throughout the epithelium of the genital tract. Sites of high alkaline-phosphatase activity are the acinar epithelium, nurse cells, and follicular cells of the ovotestis. Sperm heads are also strongly positive for the enzyme. The nidamental gland cells and the subepithelial mucous cells associated with the loop of the hermaphroditic duct and with the spermatic groove are thionine metachromatic, alcianophilic, PAS-positive and amylase-fast. The mucous cells of the genital atrium are PAS-positive and amylase-fast but lack both thionine metachromasia and affinity for Alcian blue.
Genetic Elements of Plant Viruses as Tools for Genetic Engineering

Viruses have developed successful strategies for propagation at the expense of their host cells. Efficient gene expression, genome multiplication, and invasion of the host are enabled by virus-encoded genetic elements, many of which are well characterized. Sequences derived from plant DNA and RNA viruses can be used to control expression of other genes in vivo. The main groups of plant virus genetic elements useful in genetic engineering are reviewed, including the signals for DNA-dependent and RNA-dependent RNA synthesis, sequences on the virus mRNAs that enable translational control, and sequences that control processing and intracellular sorting of virus proteins. Use of plant viruses as extrachromosomal expression vectors is also discussed, along with the issue of their stability.
Non-Uniform Doppler Compensation for Zero-Padded OFDM over Fast-Varying Underwater Acoustic Channels

Underwater acoustic channels are wideband in nature due to the fact that the signal bandwidth is not negligible with respect to the center frequency. OFDM transmissions over UWA channels encounter frequency-dependent Doppler drifts that destroy the orthogonality among OFDM subcarriers. In this paper, we propose a two-step approach to mitigating the frequency-dependent Doppler drifts in zero-padded OFDM transmissions over fast-varying channels: (1) non-uniform Doppler compensation via resampling that converts a "wideband" problem into a "narrowband" problem; and (2) high-resolution uniform compensation on the residual Doppler. Based on block-by-block processing, our receiver does not rely on channel dependence across OFDM blocks, and is thus desirable for fast-varying UWA channels. We test our receiver with data from a shallow water experiment at Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Our receiver achieves excellent performance even when the transmitter and the receivers have a relative speed up to 10 knots, where the Doppler drifts are several times larger than the OFDM subcarrier spacing.
Rethinking Duverger's Law: Predicting the Effective Number of Parties in Plurality and PR Systems – Parties Minus Issues Equals One

Attempts to predict the number of political parties emerging in democracies have usually been based on one of two seemingly incompatible approaches: (1) the ‘institutional’ approach (e.g.. Duverger’s Law and Hypothesis) focuses on the nature of the electoral system and also on the number of seats per district: (2) the ‘ideological’ approach stresses the nature and extent of social cleavages. This article attempts a synthesis by showing that election system and cleavage type interact to affect the number of parties. with the former factor determined in part by the latter. Our most striking finding. however. is that the effective number of parties tends to be obtained by adding ‘one’ to the number of issue dimensions. -Nithin this broader framework, Duverger’s Law emerges as a special case for polities with a single issue dimension. and Duverger’s Hypothesis is replaced by a much more quantitative prediction as to the effective number of parties.
Identification and Characterization of a New Tubulin-Binding Tetrasubstituted Brominated Pyrrole

We studied the mechanism of action of 3,5-dibromo-4-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1 H -pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid ethyl ester (JG-03-14) and found that it is a potent microtubule depolymerizer. JG-03-14 caused a dose-dependent loss of cellular microtubules, formation of aberrant mitotic spindles, accumulation of cells in the G 2 /M phase of the cell cycle, and Bcl-2 phosphorylation. These events culminated in the initiation of apoptosis, as evidenced by the caspase 3-dependent cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). JG-03-14 has antiproliferative activity against a wide range of cancer cell lines, with an average IC 50 value of 62 nM, and it is a poor substrate for transport by P-glycoprotein. JG-03-14 inhibited the polymerization of purified tubulin in vitro, consistent with a direct interaction between the compound and tubulin. JG-03-14 potently inhibited the binding of [ 3 H]colchicine to tubulin, suggesting that it bound to tubulin at a site overlapping the colchicine site. JG-03-14 had antitumor effects in the PC3 xenograft model, in which it caused greater than 50% reduction in tumor burden after 14 days of treatment. Molecular modeling studies indicated that the dimethoxyphenyl group of JG-03-14 occupies a space similar to that of the trimethoxyphenyl group of colchicine. However, the 2,3,5-trisubstituted pyrrole group, which is connected to the dimethoxyphenyl moiety, interacted with both α and β tubulin in space not shared with colchicine, suggesting significant differences compared with colchicine in the mechanism of binding to tubulin. Our results suggest that this tetransubstituted pyrrole represents a new, biologically active chemotype for the colchicine site on tubulin.
The contribution of dance to daily physical activity among adolescent girls

Background: Structured physical activity (PA) programs are well positioned to promote PA among youth, however, little is known about these programs, particularly dance classes. The aims of this study were to: 1) describe PA levels of girls enrolled in dance classes, 2) determine the contribution of dance classes to total moderate-tovigorous physical activity (MVPA), and 3) compare PA between days with a dance class (program days) and days without a dance class (non-program days). Methods: Participants were 149 girls (11-18 years) enrolled in dance classes in 11 dance studios. Overall PA was assessed with accelerometry for 8 consecutive days, and girls reported when they attended dance classes during those days. The percent contribution of dance classes to total MVPA was calculated, and data were reduced to compare PA on program days to non-program days. Data were analyzed using mixed models, adjusting for total monitoring time. Results: Girls engaged in 25.0 ± 0.9 minutes/day of MVPA. Dance classes contributed 28.7% (95% CI: 25.9%-31.6%) to girls’ total MVPA. Girls accumulated more MVPA on program (28.7 ± 1.4 minutes/day) than non-program days (16.4 ± 1.5 minutes/day) (p < 0.001). Girls had less sedentary behavior on program (554.0 ± 8.1 minutes/day) than non-program days (600.2 ± 8.7 minutes/day) (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Dance classes contributed a substantial proportion (29%) to girls’ total MVPA, and girls accumulated 70% more MVPA and 8% less sedentary behavior on program days than on non-program days. Dance classes can make an important contribution to girls’ total physical activity.
Integrating Sustainability Into the Marketing Curriculum: Learning Activities That Facilitate Sustainable Marketing Practices

In response to political, social, and competitive forces, many firms are developing sustainable marketing strategies. Marketing educators can play an important role in assisting these firms by deve...
Identification by Mutagenesis of a Conserved Glutamate (Glu487) Residue Important for Catalytic Activity in Rat Liver Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase II

Mammalian mitochondrial membranes express two active but distinct carnitine palmitoyltransferases: carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPTI), which is malonyl coA-sensitive and detergent-labile; and carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPTII), which is malonyl coA-insensitive and detergent-stable. To determine the role of the highly conserved C-terminal acidic residues glutamate 487 (Glu487) and glutamate 500 (Glu500) on catalytic activity in rat liver CPTII, we separately mutated these residues to alanine, aspartate, or lysine, and the effect of the mutations on CPTII activity was determined in theEscherichia coli-expressed mutants. Substitution of Glu487 with alanine, aspartate, or lysine resulted in almost complete loss in CPTII activity. Because a conservative substitution mutation of this residue, Glu487 with aspartate (E487D), resulted in a 97% loss in activity, we predicted that Glu487 would be at the active-site pocket of CPTII. The substantial loss in CPTII activity observed with the E487K mutant, along with the previously reported loss in activity observed in a child with a CPTII deficiency disease, establishes that Glu487 is crucial for maintaining the configuration of the liver isoform of the CPTII active site. Substitution of the conserved Glu500 in CPTII with alanine or aspartate reduced theV max for both substrates, suggesting that Glu500 may be important in stabilization of the enzyme-substrate complex. A conservative substitution of Glu500 to aspartate resulted in a significant decrease in the V max for the substrates. Thus, Glu500 may play a role in substrate binding and catalysis. Our site-directed mutagenesis studies demonstrate that Glu487 in the liver isoform of CPTII is essential for catalysis.
Interrater Reliability: Completing the Methods Description in Medical Records Review Studies

In medical records review studies, information on the interrater reliability (IRR) of the data is seldom reported. This study assesses the IRR of data collected for a complex medical records review study. Elements selected for determining IRR included "demographic" data that require copying explicit information (e.g., gender, birth date), "free-text" data that require identifying and copying (e.g., chief complaints and diagnoses), and data that require abstractor judgment in determining what to record (e.g., whether heart disease was considered). Rates of agreement were assessed by the greatest number of answers (one to all n) that were the same. The IRR scores improved over time. At 1 month, the reliability for demographic data elements was very good, for free-text data elements was good, but for data elements requiring abstractor judgment was unacceptable (only 3.4 of six answers agreed, on average). All assessments after 6 months showed very good to excellent IRR. This study demonstrates that IRR can be evaluated and summarized, providing important information to the study investigators and to the consumer for assessing the reliability of the data and therefore the validity of the study results and conclusions. IRR information should be required for all large medical records studies.
Erosion/Oxidation Resistant Coatings for High Temperature Polymer Composites

Thermally sprayed coatings are being studied and developed as methods of enabling lightweight composites to be used more extensively as structural components in propulsion applications in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency through weight reductions. The primary goal of this work is the development of functionally graded material (FGM) polymer/metal matrix composite coatings to provide improved erosion/oxidation resistance to polyimide-based polymer matrix composite (PMC) substrates. The goal is to grade the coating composition from pure polyimide, similar to the PMC substrate matrix on one side, to 100% WC-Co on the other. Both step-wise and continuous gradation of the WC-Co loading in these coatings are being investigated. Details of the processing parameter development are presented, specifically the high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) combustion spraying of pure PMR-II matrix material and layers of various composition PMR-II/WC-Co blends onto steel and PMR-15 composite substrates. Results of the HV...
Simple movement and detection in discrete event simulation

Many scenarios involving simulation require modeling movement and sensing. Traditionally, this has been done in a time-stepped manner, often because of a mistaken belief that using a pure discrete event approach is infeasible. This paper discusses how simple motion (linear, uniform, two-dimensional) and simple sensing can be modeled with a pure discrete event approach. We demonstrate that this approach is not only feasible, it is often more desirable from several standpoints.
Rational behavior and economic theory

Abstract Nowadays, it seems almost universally presumed that the fundamental characteristic of homo oeconomicus is his rationality. We analyze the role played by the concept of rationality in economic theory, and demonstrate that it is necessarily constrained to be an essentially contentless notion. We show that the main body of economic theory is firmly grounded, and that some contrasting approaches to rationality, although leading to heated debates and vivid confusion, have no fundamental significance for economics. With a refereshed view on the essence of economics, we argue that the principles of economic theory form an essential methodological guide for the emergent line of research based on the use of so-called ‘evolutive’ models.
Effects of Various Inotropic Interventions on the Dynamic Properties of the Contractile Elements in Heart Muscle of the Cat

Force-velocity-length (FVL) relations were obtained by determining the phase-plane tracings of velocity of shortening vs. length during isotonic contractions. These measurements were then replotted in a three-dimensional graph after correction for the series elastic extension during the isometric phase of the contractions as derived from a quick release contraction. On examining the influence of temperature (29° and 37°), preload, frequency of stimulation (12/min and 24-30/min), paired stimulation (PS), calcium (2.5 mM and 7.5 mM), and iso-proterenol (10 -5 M), it was shown that the surface created by the three-dimensional FVL relations of the contractile element (CE) is unique for a given state of contractility. Furthermore, the course of velocity vs. length is determined only by the instantaneous CE length, regardless of the contractile state of the CE, and is independent of the time after stimulation over a large portion of the shortening. From the intersection of the linear load-shortening relation observed for the CE with the load axis the maximum force (P o ) development of the CE was derived. The highest values of this corrected P o (1.80 ± 0.13 kg/cm 2 ) were seen following inotropic interventions such as PS, calcium, or isoproterenol. Using the corrected P o , truly hyperbolic force-velocity curves were constructed from which V max and the Hill equation constants a and b were derived for the various inotropic interventions.
A phase I trial of vorinostat and alvocidib in patients with relapsed, refractory, or poor prognosis acute leukemia, or refractory anemia with excess blasts-2.

Purpose: This phase I study was conducted to identify the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) of alvocidib when combined with vorinostat in patients with relapsed, refractory, or poor prognosis acute leukemia, or refractory anemia with excess blasts-2. Secondary objectives included investigating the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of the combination. Experimental Design: Patients received vorinostat (200 mg orally, three times a day, for 14 days) on a 21-day cycle, combined with 2 different alvocidib administration schedules: a 1-hour intravenous infusion, daily × 5; or a 30-minute loading infusion followed by a 4-hour maintenance infusion, weekly × 2. The alvocidib dose was escalated using a standard 3+3 design. Results: Twenty-eight patients were enrolled and treated. The alvocidib MTD was 20 mg/m 2 (30-minute loading infusion) followed by 20 mg/m 2 (4-hour maintenance infusion) on days one and eight, in combination with vorinostat. The most frequently encountered toxicities were cytopenias, fatigue, hyperglycemia, hypokalemia, hypophosphatemia, and QT prolongation. Dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) were cardiac arrhythmia-atrial fibrillation and QT prolongation. No objective responses were achieved although 13 of 26 evaluable patients exhibited stable disease. Alvocidib seemed to alter vorinostat pharmacokinetics, whereas alvocidib pharmacokinetics were unaffected by vorinostat. Ex vivo exposure of leukemia cells to plasma obtained from patients after alvocidib treatment blocked vorinostat-mediated p21 CIP1 induction and downregulated Mcl-1 and p-RNA Pol II for some specimens, although parallel in vivo bone marrow responses were infrequent. Conclusions: Alvocidib combined with vorinostat is well tolerated. Although disease stabilization occurred in some heavily pretreated patients, objective responses were not obtained with these schedules. Clin Cancer Res; 19(7); 1873–83. ©2013 AACR .
Evaluation of high order approximating normals for Marching Cubes

Two new approaches for approximating normals for volume visualization by marching cubes isosurfacing are introduced. The approaches utilize higher order approximations than the standard approach of simple central differencing gradients. The impact of the new approximation approaches on isosurface renderings are also considered by quantitative pixel-level comparisons on scenes for which optimal renderings are known.
Interactions between materials, environment and contaminant in microswitches

A significant impediment to implementing micro- and nanoswitch technology is that the small contact areas (10−4 to 102 µm2) and low forces (nano to micronewtons) render the surfaces inherently susceptible to contamination, which increases their contact resistance. In this work, we report on the formation of carbonaceous tribopolymer (TP) in microswitches under controlled environmental conditions in order to characterize its behavior. We clean switches coated by Pt or RuO2 thin films using vacuum bakeouts, and test them in the same chamber in ultra-high purity gases including nitrogen and oxygen. We introduce controlled levels of benzene contaminant from 0.02 to 2500 parts per million to test the immunity of different material/environment combinations to TP buildup. We find that repetitively making and breaking contact and passing electrical current through it produces TP. TP also builds up more quickly in nitrogen rather than nitrogen:oxygen backgrounds both for Pt and RuO2 materials. It appears possible to convert TP into a more conductive form, which we associate using Raman spectroscopy with an increase in its graphitic content.
Neuroimaging genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease in preclinical individuals: From candidate genes to polygenic approaches.

Better characterization of the preclinical phase of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is needed to develop effective interventions. Neuropathologic changes in AD, including neuronal loss and the formation of proteinaceous deposits, can begin 20 years before the onset of clinical symptoms. As such, the emergence of cognitive impairment should not be the sole basis used to diagnose AD or to evaluate individuals for enrollment in clinical trials for preventive AD treatments. Instead, early preclinical biomarkers of disease and genetic risk should be used to determine the most likely prognosis and to enroll individuals in appropriate clinical trials. Neuroimaging-based biomarkers and genetic analysis together present a powerful system for classifying preclinical pathology in patients. Disease-modifying interventions are more likely to produce positive outcomes when administered early in the course of AD. This review examines the utility of the neuroimaging genetics field as it applies to AD and early detection during the preclinical phase. Neuroimaging studies focused on single genetic risk factors are summarized. Particular focus is on the recent increased interest in polygenic methods, and the benefits and disadvantages of these approaches are discussed. Challenges in the neuroimaging genetics field, including limitations of statistical power arising from small effect sizes and the overuse of cross-sectional designs, are also discussed. Despite the limitations, neuroimaging genetics has already begun to influence clinical trial design and is expected to play a major role in the prevention of AD.
Frontline nurse managers' confidence and self-efficacy.

Aim This study was focused on determining relationships between confidence levels and self-efficacy among nurse managers. Background Frontline nurse managers have a pivotal role in delivering high-quality patient care while managing the associated costs and resources. The competency and skill of nurse managers affect every aspect of patient care and staff well-being as nurse managers are largely responsible for creating work environments in which clinical nurses are able to provide high-quality, patient-centred, holistic care. Method A descriptive, correlational survey design was used; 85 nurse managers participated. Results Years in a formal leadership role and confidence scores were found to be significant predictors of self-efficacy scores. Conclusions Experience as a nurse manager is an important component of confidence and self-efficacy. Implications for Nursing Management There is a need to develop educational programmes for nurse managers to enhance their self-confidence and self-efficacy, and to maintain experienced nurse managers in the role.
Perspectives, Opinions, and Information Flows

Consider a group of individuals with unobservable perspectives (subjective prior beliefs) about a sequence of states. In each period, each individual receives private information about the current state and forms an opinion (a posterior belief). She also chooses a target individual and observes the target's opinion. This choice involves a trade-off between well-informed targets, whose signals are precise, and well-understood targets, whose perspectives are well known. Opinions are informative about the target's perspective, so observed individuals become better understood over time. We identify a simple condition under which long-run behavior is history independent. When this fails, each individual restricts attention to a small set of experts and observes the most informed among these. A broad range of observational patterns can arise with positive probability, including opinion leadership and information segregation. In an application to areas of expertise, we show how these mechanisms generate own-field bias and large field dominance.
S01.1 An Update on Topical Microbicide Development

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosa with the intent of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections including HIV-1. Unfortunately, the last 5–10 years of microbicide research have generated a number of disappointments. Large scale phase 2B/3 studies or topical microbicides have failed to demonstrate product efficacy, have been stopped prematurely for futility, or in the worst case scenario have possibly demonstrated microbicide induced harm including increased risk of HIV acquisition. Although the CAPRISA 004 study of vaginal peri-coital tenofovir gel demonstrated a significant reduction in HIV acquisition (39%; p = 0.017), the most recently completed microbicide effectiveness study, MTN-003 (the VOICE study), did not demonstrate the effectiveness of daily tenofovir gel, largely due to product non-adherence by study participants. However, the ongoing FACTS-001 study has the potential to confirm the results of the CAPRISA 004 study and may lead to licensure of tenofovir gel. In addition, current microbicide research is increasingly focused on technology, such as intravaginal rings, that provide sustained release of antiretrovirals to the cervicovaginal mucosa and may minimise adherence problems associated with peri-coital or daily use of vaginal gels. Two Phase 3 studies of a dapivirine vaginal ring are currently ongoing. The development of combination products that might provide contraceptive and antiretroviral drug delivery is also gathering momentum. Rectal microbicide research has moved from Phase 1 to Phase development. The MTN-017 study, which will be conducted in the USA, Peru, Thailand, and South Africa, will evaluate the safety and acceptability of oral Truvada and rectal tenofovir gel in men who have sex with men and transgender women. This talk will provide a comprehensive update on the challenges and opportunities associated with microbicide development.
"Networks, Attention, and Good Ideas: Taking Advantage of Social Structure"

This study examines how people’s attention allocation in social networks affects their ability to come up with good ideas. Using survey data on communication networks among 107 R&D employees in a software company, we find that R&D employees who bridge across structural holes in a sparse network are more likely to create good ideas by balancing their attention allocation across their non- redundant connections. We also obtain empirical evidence that R&D workers in a dense network, characterized by cohesion amongst contacts, are more likely to generate good ideas by selectively focusing their attention on strong ties sharing tacit knowledge. Furthermore, we also demonstrate that R&D employees in a dense network, who attend more to strong ties with tacit knowledge, sometimes overcome their structural liability by gaining the higher chance to generate good ideas than ones in a sparse network. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on social networks and innovation.
Air vent jet angle of auto mobile instrument panel

Based on ax-symmetric jet and plane jet,this article stated an inference about air ventjet angle of automobile instrument panel from Prandtl's mixing length hypothesis and the theory of parallel multiplejets,which was confirmed by finite element simulation analysis and tests.The results of the study on vehicle engineering show that increasing the number of vanes doesn't change yet angle.
Biological significance of genome‐wide DNA methylation profiles in keloids

Objectives/Hypothesis To obtain biological insight into keloid pathogenesis and treatment using pathway analysis of genome-wide differentially methylated gene profiles between keloid and normal skin. Study Design Prospective cohort. Methods Genome-wide profiling was previously done, with institutional review board approval, on six fresh keloid and six fresh normal skin tissue samples, using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip kit. Statistically significant differentially methylated cytosine-phosphodiester bond-guanines (CpGs, n = 197) between keloid and normal tissue mapped to 152 genes. These genes were uploaded into Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software to identify biological functions or regulatory networks interacting. The pathways (or “network”) with an enrichment probability value ≤ .01 were subjected to a heuristic filter of keywords associated with keloid pathogenesis. Results Of the 197 CpGs, 191 were found in the IPA database and mapped to 152 unique genes. The top 10 hypermethylated genes were ACTR3C, LRRC61, PAQR4, C1orf109, SLCO2B1, CMKLR1, AHDC1, FYCO1, CCDC34, and CACNB2. The top 10 hypomethylated genes were GALNT3, SCML4, PPP1R13L, ANKRD11, WIPF1, MX2, IFFO1, DENND1C, CFH, and GHDC. IPA identified nine pathways with enrichment probability values ≤ .01, of which five (histidine degradation V1, phospholipase C signaling, colorectal cancer metastasis signaling, P2Y purinergic receptor signaling, and Gαi signaling) were associated with keloid keywords and contained “keloid genes” (P < .05). Conclusions Genes differentially methylated between keloid and normal skin reside in known bionetwork pathways involved in critical biological functioning and signaling events in the cell. This information could be used to refine screening processes for biological significance to better understand keloid pathogenesis and to develop molecular-targeted therapy. Level of Evidence NA Laryngoscope, 2016
The National Academy of Medicine and the Cardiovascular Community: Partnering for a Healthier Future.

We are entering an era of unprecedented opportunities and challenges in health and medicine. With recent advances in science and technology, as well as the advent of big data, we have seen tremendous developments in biomedical science and the practice of medicine. Yet, the global disease burden continues to rise, demand for care is increasing, costs are unsustainable, and health inequity persists. Globally, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the No. 1 disease burden, driven by the rise in noncommunicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes mellitus. The need for cardiovascular medicine will continue to grow as the global population ages and developing countries become more affluent, adopt a Western lifestyle, and become more urbanized. There have been impressive advances in cardiovascular diagnostics and therapeutics in the areas of precision medicine, molecular/metabolic imaging, endovascular procedures, gene and cell therapies, RNA therapeutics, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, and digital health. However, cardiovascular care is fragmented and expensive. Furthermore, in the current healthcare landscape, access, quality, and costs are top priorities. The Affordable Care Act introduced a number of payment and delivery system reforms to increase the quality of health care while controlling costs, such as accountable care organizations, patient-centered medical homes, and mechanisms to link payments to quality. This value-focused health care is here to stay; therefore, we must adopt this approach for cardiovascular medicine. Importantly, we must do more to move from a disease-treatment model to a model that prioritizes and enables prevention. Unfortunately, current health challenges do not always lend themselves to straightforward solutions. There is a real need for evidence-based, independent, and nonpolitical advice that can inform health policy and thereby shape solutions and drive change. Indeed, society can benefit enormously from the activities of an independent scientific academy with the directive to mobilize the best minds to provide objective …
Die Mauer als emblematisches Motiv

Wie die Menschen einer ohne den anderen, folglich ohne ein Miteinander nicht leben konnen, eben so kommen sie nebeneinander in Konflikt, konkurrieren und storen sich wechselseitig. Dann errichten sie Mauern. Die Schallschutzmauer ist dafur ein sprechendes Wort.
The Future Blood Supply System: A Prognosis

The rapid changes in health care have moved many persons to anticipate the role and nature of the blood supply system in the future. Demographic evolution, socioeconomic factors, and technological developments are expected, in a synergistic manner, to greatly affect the traditional supply system as we know it today. This will particularly affect blood banks with a limited opportunity to expand into alternate service areas. A number of blood banks will disappear. Those that survive will play a more crucial role than ever in the health care system.
Telemedicine's Potential Ethical Pitfalls

Ensuring the ethical acceptability of telemedicine requires avoiding one-size-fits-all solutions and protecting the patient-physician relationship, patient privacy, and patient-centered care.
Generation of Octaploid Switchgrass by Seedling Treatment with Mitotic Inhibitors

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) exists as multiple cytotypes with octaploid (8x) and tetraploid (4x) populations occupying distinct, overlapping ranges. These cytotypes tend to show differences in adaptation, yield potential, and other characters, but the specific result of whole-genome duplication is not clear and 8x and 4x switchgrass populations are reproductively isolated with limited genetic exchange. To create new opportunities for population improvement and to study the effects of whole genome duplication on switchgrass, seedling treatment of the tetraploid cultivar Liberty with microtubule inhibitors was used to generate an octaploid population. Resulting octaploids, tetraploids, and cytochimeras were resolved by intercrossing octaploid sectors to produce a population of 19 octaploid families. Fertility of octaploid sectors was significantly reduced relative to tetraploid sectors and caryopsis size significantly increased. Cell size was significantly increased which resulted in quantitative changes to leaf anatomy. During seedling and early vegetative growth stages, no differences in vigor or tillering ability were seen. This technique resulted in efficient genome doubling and was simple to perform. However, aneuploids were also identified with both larger and smaller than expected genome sizes.
High-linearity monolithically integrated photodiodes and Wilkinson power combiner at 20 GHz

Photodiodes monolithically integrated with a Wilkinson power combiner have achieved over 50 dBm of third-order intercept point (OIP3) at 20 GHz and 64 mA photocurrent level.
Violent Mexico: The Mexican Case as an ‘Extremely Violent Society.’

0 0 1 185 1059 USD 8 2 1242 14.0 Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Violent conflicts have evolved significantly throughout time and have become more intricate and hard to define under traditional categories. Armed conflicts, genocide, and mass atrocities are no longer enough to classify new conflicts that emerge every day in different regions of the globe. Such is the case of Mexico, a country that after a series of conflicts over more than a hundred years, became relatively stable throughout the 20 th century; nonetheless, such apparent tranquillity became abruptly altered with a roughly 150% increase in intentional homicides starting in 2007, totalling more than 121,000 killings in the six-year period from 2007-2012, most of which were somehow linked to organised crime. The levels of violence, the nature of different groups involved, the advanced weaponry and the widespread of the conflict make the context difficult to be labelled through traditional concepts. As new approaches are considered for evolving developments, the situation in Mexico is described under an emerging classification, the “extremely violent societies.” This paper explores the country’s context to conclude its features meet indeed the characteristics of an extremely violent society as a tool for future policy shaping.
Preclinical endoscopic training using a part-task simulator: learning curve assessment and determination of threshold score for advancement to clinical endoscopy.

Background Preclinical simulator training has the potential to decrease endoscopic procedure time and patient discomfort. This study aims to characterize the learning curve of endoscopic novices in a part-task simulator and propose a threshold score for advancement to initial clinical cases. Methods Twenty novices with no prior endoscopic experience underwent repeated endoscopic simulator sessions using the part-task simulator. Simulator scores were collected; their inverse was averaged and fit to an exponential curve. The incremental improvement after each session was calculated. Plateau was defined as the session after which incremental improvement in simulator score model was less than 5%. Additionally, all participants filled out questionnaires regarding simulator experience after sessions 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20. A visual analog scale and NASA task load index were used to assess levels of comfort and demand. Results Twenty novices underwent 400 simulator sessions. Mean simulator scores at sessions 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 were 78.5 ± 5.95, 176.5 ± 17.7, 275.55 ± 23.56, 347 ± 26.49, and 441.11 ± 38.14. The best fit exponential model was [time/score] = 26.1 × [session #]-0.615; r 2 = 0.99. This corresponded to an incremental improvement in score of 35% after the first session, 22% after the second, 16% after the third and so on. Incremental improvement dropped below 5% after the 12th session corresponding to the predicted score of 265. Simulator training was related to higher comfort maneuvering an endoscope and increased readiness for supervised clinical endoscopy, both plateauing between sessions 10 and 15. Mental demand, physical demand, and frustration levels decreased with increased simulator training. Conclusion Preclinical training using an endoscopic part-task simulator appears to increase comfort level and decrease mental and physical demand associated with endoscopy. Based on a rigorous model, we recommend that novices complete a minimum of 12 training sessions and obtain a simulator score of at least 265 to be best prepared for clinical endoscopy.
Editorial Commentary: Is Anterolateral Ligament Reconstruction of the Knee Needed? The Debate Rages on

A recent systematic review on the techniques, biomechanics, and clinical outcomes of anterolateral ligament reconstruction of the knee summarizes our current understanding of this hotly debated topic. In 2017, it is not clear if an anterolateral ligament reconstruction is needed in the setting of primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.
Simulation-based prediction of cyclic failure in rubbery materials using nonlinear space-time finite element method coupled with continuum damage mechanics

Abstract Rubbery materials are widely used in industrial applications and are often exposed to cyclic stress and strain conditions while in service. To ensure safety and reliability, quantifying the effect of loads on the life of rubbery material is an important but challenging task, due to the combination of geometric/material nonlinearities and loading conditions for extended time durations. In this work, a novel simulation approach based on nonlinear space-time finite element method (FEM) is presented with a goal to capture fatigue failure in rubbery material subjected to cyclic loads. It is established by integrating the time discontinuous Galerkin (TDG) formulation with nonlinear material constitutive laws. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM) model is introduced to account for the damage evolution and model parameters for synthetic rubber are calibrated based on experiment. The nonlinear space-time FEM coupled with CDM constitutive model shows good agreement with the fracture and low cycle fatigue test of notched rubber sheet specimen.
Four-Wave Mixing Spectroscopy of Metastable Defect States in Solids

Early four-wave mixing experiments [1] relied on the high power available from pulsed lasers to produce third harmonic generation, field-induced second harmonic generation and a variety of other weak processes which combined three optical waves to yield a fourth. It was immediately recognized however that electronic resonances of various kinds could enhance nonlinear mixing of light waves. This was confirmed by a plasma experiment [2] in which input beams of frequencies ω 1, ω 2 and ω 3 produced an enhanced intensity of the four-wave mixing output wave at ω 4 = ω 1 + ω 2-ω 3 when ω 2-ω 3 and k2-k3 were adjusted to match the plasma resonance frequency and wave vector. Experiments followed which showed that intermediate electronic states [3], as well as Raman[4] resonances enhanced third order mixing. Resonant enhancement soon permitted narrowband, continuous-wave lasers to be used successfully for degenerate four-wave mixing [5] (ω 4 = ω 3 = ω 2 = ω 1) and coherent anti-Stokes Raman (CARS) generation in liquids [6] and gases [7], which demonstrated the high spectral resolution capability and sensitivity of these techniques. Also, important applications of four-wave mixing which were non-spectroscopic in nature were found, including phase conjugation and amplified reflection [8, 9, 10].
Self-esteem and narcissism: An item response theory analysis of curvilinearity

Abstract An association between grandiose narcissism and self-esteem has been well established. While the two constructs are both associated with an agentic, approach-oriented style, their levels of agreeableness/antagonism and overall adaptivity diverge. Three samples (N = 1920; N = 855, N = 591) were utilized to test the hypothesis that self-esteem may show a curvilinear relationship with narcissism such that relations between self-esteem and narcissism are stronger at particularly high levels of self-esteem. Item Response Theory scoring methods were utilized to maximize power and minimize error. No curvilinear effects consistent with the hypothesis were found. These results are consistent with arguments for substantive differences between self-esteem and narcissism.
Spin dynamics at oxygen sites in YBa2Cu3O7.

We report NMR measurements of the nuclear relaxation rate at all copper and oxygen sites in magnetically aligned powder samples of ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7}$. Comparison of the oxygen and copper relaxation reveals a characteristic temperature greater than ${T}_{c}$. The copper relaxation rate is enhanced by antiferromagnetic copper spin fluctuations which are undiminished in the superconducting state. The absence of a coherence peak indicates that the superconductive pairing is not of the conventional BCS type.
The mechanisms of methotrexate’s action in the treatment of inflammatory disease

The introduction of methotrexate for the therapy of rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of inflammatory arthritis has revolutionized the way in which these diseases are now treated. Because methotrexate was introduced empirically for the treatment of inflammatory disease without any specific understanding of a biological basis for its antiinflammatory properties, no improvements on this line of therapy have yet been introduced. A number of recent studies suggest several potential mechanisms of action and new agents developed on the basis of these mechanisms are currently being studied. We will discuss here the biochemical mechanisms by which methotrexate may suppress the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis.