cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Convenient and Live Movement (CALM) for women undergoing breast cancer treatment: Challenges and recommendations for internet-based yoga research.

Abstract Objective To conduct a pilot trial of internet-based, cancer-adapted yoga for women receiving breast cancer treatment. Design Women undergoing radiation or chemotherapy for breast cancer were recruited for 12, 75-min, biweekly, cancer-adapted yoga classes delivered via internet-based, multipoint videoconferencing. Data were collected on feasibility and acceptability, including qualitative feedback from participants and the yoga instructor. Results Among 42 women approached, 13 declined eligibility screening, and 23 were ineligible. All 6 women who were eligible provided consent, but 2 withdrew prior to beginning yoga classes. The remaining 4 participants attended 1–11 of 12 online yoga classes. In post-intervention interviews, participants and the instructor agreed that internet-based yoga classes hold great potential for increasing access and improving psychological outcomes in adults with cancer. Qualitative feedback from participants revealed suggestions for future trials of internet-based, cancer-adapted yoga classes, including: continued use of group format; offering more varied class times to accommodate patients’ demanding schedules and fluctuating symptoms; enrolling patients after they have acclimated to or completed cancer treatment; streamlining the technology interface; and careful attention to participant burden when designing surveys/forms. The instructor recommended closed session courses, as opposed to rolling enrollment; teaching the same modified poses for all participants, rather than individual tailoring; and using a large screen to allow closer monitoring of students’ class experience. Conclusions Internet delivery may increase patients’ access to cancer-adapted yoga classes, but cancer-related and technological barriers remain. This study informs how to optimally design yoga classes, technology, and research procedures to maximize feasibility and acceptability in future trials.
A new convergence theorem for the method of tangent hyperbolas in banach space

In this study we appmximate a locally unique solution of a non-linear operator equtation in Banach space using the method of tangent hyperbolas. A new semilocal convergence theorem is provided using Lipschitz conditions on the second Frechet-derivative. Our conditions are different than earlier ones. Hence, they have theorctical and practical value. Numerical examples are also provoded.
Developmental plasticity of GABAergic neurotransmission to brainstem motoneurons

KEY POINTS Critical homeostatic behaviours such as suckling, swallowing and breathing depend on the precise control of tongue muscle activity. Perinatal nicotine exposure has multiple effects on baseline inhibitory GABAergic neurotransmission to hypoglossal motoneurons (XIIMNs), consistent with homeostatic compensations directed at maintaining normal motoneuron output. Developmental nicotine exposure (DNE) alters how GABAergic neurotransmission is modulated by acute activation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, which may provide insight into mechanisms by which nicotine exposure alters motor function under conditions that result in increased release of GABA, such as hypoxia, or endogenous acetylcholine, as occurs in the transition from NREM to REM sleep, or in response to exogenous nicotine. ABSTRACT Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) signalling regulates neuronal differentiation and synaptogenesis. Here we test the hypothesis that developmental nicotine exposure (DNE) disrupts the development of GABAergic synaptic transmission to hypoglossal motoneurons (XIIMNs). GABAergic spontaneous and miniature inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs/mIPSCs) were recorded from XIIMNs in brainstem slices from control and DNE rat pups of either sex, 1-5 days old, at baseline and following acute stimulation of nAChRs with nicotine. At baseline, sIPSCs were less frequent and smaller in DNE cells (consistent with decreased action potential-mediated GABA release), and mIPSCs were more frequent (consistent with increased vesicular GABA release from presynaptic terminals). Acute nicotine challenge increased sIPSC frequency in both groups, though the increase was greater in DNE cells. Acute nicotine challenge did not change the frequency of mIPSCs in either group, though mIPSC amplitude increased significantly in DNE cells, but not control cells. Stimulation of postsynaptic GABAA receptors with muscimol caused a significantly greater chloride current in DNE cells than in control cells. The increased quantal release of GABA, coupled with the rise in the strength of postsynaptic inhibition may be homeostatic adjustments to the decreased action-potential-mediated input from GABAergic interneurons. However, this will exaggerate synaptic inhibition under conditions where the release of GABA (e.g. hypoxia) or ACh (sleep-wake transitions) is increased. These findings reveal a mechanism that may explain why DNE is associated with deficits in the ability to respond appropriately to chemosensory stimuli or to changes in neuromodulation secondary to changes in central nervous system state.
Spirulina sp. biomass dried/disrupted by different methods and their application in biofilms production

Arthrospira Spirulina biomass is a source of intracellular compounds with great commercial interest, such as phycocyanin and phenolic compounds. In this work, different cell disruption methods of the microalgae biomass dried in spouted bed and in conventional tray were performed, aiming lead to the better extraction yields of these compounds. The samples of both drying techniques with the most suitable cell disruption were used to biofilms production. FTIR, DSC, and SEM for all samples were performed. The samples dried in spouted bed with cell disruption by milling and by microwave showed the best results for the powder products, with phycocyanin contents of 75.0 and 85.4 mg g−1, and total phenolic compounds of 41.6 and 41.9 mg g−1, respectively. However, the tray drying/milling produced the biofilms with the best characteristics (tensile strength of 3.69 MPa and water vapor permeability of 1.67 × 10−11 g m s−1 m−2 Pa−1) and the highest thermal stability.
Anarchism/Anarchist Geography

Anarchism as a political philosophy and geography as a discipline were joined in the late nineteenth century through the work of Elisee Reclus and Peter Kropotkin. Both geographers employed their study of the natural and social worlds to affirm the importance of nonhierarchical structures of cooperation and mutual aid. They opposed capitalism, colonialism, and all authoritarian relationships, utilizing spatial concepts to develop a theory of radical social ecology and decentralist forms of socio-spatial organization that support federations and new cooperative ways of living. Anarchism underscores the importance of creating ‘free spaces’ to foster active involvement and to allow experimentation with nonhierarchical ways of living and working. Anarchist geography seeks to reduce the scale of institutions to enable greater participation and free associations of people to achieve new forms of efficiency and exchange. Epistemologically, it challenges knowledge hierarchies and promotes the free flow of ideas. Anarchist geography also encourages active exploration and participatory planning of the environment; it challenges reduced access to public space and the imposition of restrictive classifications of space through design. Planning for diversity, flexibility, and change is encouraged. Social Anarchist ideas were most extensively applied during the social revolution that accompanied the Spanish Civil War, 1936–39.
The Role of the Polymorphonuclear Leukocyte in Mediating Myocardial Reperfusion Injury

The 1980’s have witnessed a revolution in the approach to the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction. The publication by De Wood et al. (1) demonstrated the presence of obstructive coronary thrombi in 90% of patients who underwent coronary angiography within 4 hours of the onset of symptoms of acute myocardial infarction. The documentation of coronary thrombosis as a pivotal event in the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction provided the rationale for investigating pharmacologic and mechanical means of recanalizing acutely occluded coronary arteries. Subsequent studies documented that coronary arteries occluded by thrombus can be re-opened by thrombolytic agents or coronary angioplasty (2). Recent multicenter clinical trials showed that hospital mortality is reduced by the early administration of streptokinase to patients with acute myocardial infarction (3, 4). Thus, thrombolytic therapy is gaining increasing acceptance as the standard of care for the treatment of patients suspected of acute myocardial infarction.
Kinetics and Mechanisms of Protein Crystallization at the Molecular Level

This chapter focuses on the processes by which a protein molecule in a supersaturated solution joins a protein crystal. The pair of proteins ferritin/apoferritin is used as an example. The most commonly used technique in such investigations has been atomic force microscopy. I discuss the modifications and tests of the atomic force microscope necessary to obtain real-time, in situ molecular resolution imaging. Then, I review tests that establish a quantitative correspondence between the continuous models of crystal growth and the discrete nature of the processes at the molecular level. I address the issue of whether the incorporation of a molecule from a solution into a growth site on the crystal surface is limited by the slow rate of decay of an Eyring-type transition state. The conclusion is that, on the contrary, a scenario, envisioned by Smoluchowski and Debye, is followed in which the kinetics is only limited by the rate diffusion over the free-energy barrier of interaction between two molecules, or an incoming molecule and a surface. Review of the data for many other protein and nonprotein systems suggests that this conclusion is valid not only for the crystallization of ferritin/apoferritin, but also for many other protein and small-molecule crystallization systems. Finally, I review results establishing that the pathway that a molecule from a solution takes on its way to an incorporation site on the crystal surface is indirect: it includes adsorption on the surface and two-dimensional diffusion toward the incorporation site. These results will likely contribute to the understanding at the molecular level not only of the processes of crystallization of proteins and small molecules, but also of the deposition of layers of proteins and other soft materials on substrates, and of other processes of self-assembly in solution.
CO2 and CO laser comparison of glass and ceramic processing

Since the mid-1960s when Kumar Patel invented the 9-10μm CO2 laser and the 5μm CO laser, the CO2 laser has experienced tremendous commercial success, while the CO laser has essentially played no role. Until recently, reliable, cost effective, room temperature, long sealed-off lifetime CO laser sources didn’t exist. With the product release of Coherent’s CO laser family, CO lasers are now commercially available with similar performance to CO2 lasers. Because certain materials have different absorption coefficients at 5μm and 9-10μm, there is a light-material interaction that is wavelength dependent. In addition, the 5μm beam can be focused to a tighter spot size and for the same spot size, it has a longer depth of focus than at 10μm. This finds relevance in the processing of glass and ceramics where 10μm radiation is absorbed near the surface, but 5μm radiation is deposited into the bulk material and does not rely solely on diffusion from the surface. Leveraging this difference, Coherent and other organizations have conducted experiments comparing CO2 and CO laser processing of glasses and ceramics. Results show that the CO laser provides processing and performance advantages in this important materials processing market. In this paper, we present the performance characteristics of commercially available CO lasers compared to the equivalent CO2 laser. Application test results include: straight and curved cutting of various glasses, hole drilling, ceramic scribing, and the emerging area of 3-D glass printing. Both successes and remaining challenges are discussed.
An Elective Course in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health and Practice Issues

Objective. To design, implement and assess a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) health and practice elective course for second- and third-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students. Methods. The course focused on health promotion, health care barriers, disease prevention, and treatment throughout an LGBT person's lifespan. The course included topic discussions, reading assignments, various active-learning activities, an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) with a transgender person, and guest speakers from the LGBT community. Five quizzes were administered during the course that were mapped to specific session learning objectives and course learning outcomes. Students completed an anonymous pre- and post-course survey on the seven course learning outcomes to assess their knowledge and skills regarding the health of LGBT people. Results. Students exhibited significant learning with improvement in the seven course learning outcomes. The two most improved course learning outcomes were the medications used for LGBT people and summarizing health care resources available to LGBT people. The content of student portfolios included general themes of discrimination, health care access problems, advocacy, inclusive pharmacy environments, and desire to be a better practitioner. More than 91% of the students actively engaged the guest speakers from the LGBT community. Student performance on quizzes and in the OSCE activity was excellent. The capstone presentations covered a variety of topics including LGBT in Islam. Conclusion. Students demonstrated knowledge of the unique health care issues among the LGBT community. This elective course provides a framework for other pharmacy programs to incorporate LGBT health topics into the curriculum and to engage with their local LGBT community.
Quantitative Variation in m.3243A > G Mutation Produce Discrete Changes in Energy Metabolism

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 3243A > G tRNALeu(UUR) heteroplasmic mutation (m.3243A > G) exhibits clinically heterogeneous phenotypes. While the high mtDNA heteroplasmy exceeding a critical threshold causes mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis with stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome, the low mtDNA heteroplasmy causes maternally inherited diabetes with or without deafness (MIDD) syndrome. How quantitative differences in mtDNA heteroplasmy produces distinct pathological states has remained elusive. Here we show that despite striking similarities in the energy metabolic gene expression signature, the mitochondrial bioenergetics, biogenesis and fuel catabolic functions are distinct in cells harboring low or high levels of the m.3243 A > G mutation compared to wild type cells. We further demonstrate that the low heteroplasmic mutant cells exhibit a coordinate induction of transcriptional regulators of the mitochondrial biogenesis, glucose and fatty acid metabolism pathways that lack in near homoplasmic mutant cells compared to wild type cells. Altogether, these results shed new biological insights on the potential mechanisms by which low mtDNA heteroplasmy may progressively cause diabetes mellitus.
The Periodic Table as a Career Guide: A Journey to Rare Earths

This chapter describes a personal journey through the periodic table in which an undergraduate starting research in boron hydride chemistry developed into a professorial researcher in rare earth chemistry. The chapter details how the periodic table became a career guide through connections and developments that led the boron chemist into the rare earth field. Also presented is the evolution of reductive rare earth chemistry which started with just a few +2 lanthanide ions, Eu(II), Yb(II), and Sm(II), and now extends to +2 ions for all the rare earth metals, i.e., Sc and Y, and the lanthanides, La-Lu. The special reactivity of Sm(II), which led to the first lanthanide-based dinitrogen reduction, is described, as well as the rare earth dinitrogen reduction that led to the new Ln(II) ions. Periodic trends in these developments are discussed, and speculation on the future of the rare earth elements in terms of periodic properties is also presented.
850/900-nm VCSEL Arrays for 400 Gbit/s BiDi Applications

850/900-nm VCSEL arrays with modulation bandwidth of larger than 18 GHz are presented. Highly uniform performance in the arrays with two wavelengths is promising for 400 Gbit/s BiDi applications.
Histoplasmosis-Associated Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis: A Review of the Literature.

Background. Histoplasmosis is an endemic fungal disease with diverse clinical presentations. Histoplasmosis-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare disorder with limited data regarding treatment and outcome. We described the clinical features, treatment, and outcomes of five patients in our institution with histoplasmosis-associated HLH. This review also summarizes the current literature about presentation, treatment, and outcome of this infection-related HLH entity. Methods. We searched the electronic medical records for patients with histoplasmosis-associated HLH at our institution from 1/1/2006 to 9/30/2017. Diagnosis of HLH was confirmed by chart review using the HLH-04 criteria. We also searched the current literature for case reports and case series. Results. Five cases of histoplasmosis-associated HLH were included from our institution. All five patients were diagnosed after 2010. The literature review yielded 60 additional cases of histoplasmosis-associated HLH. The most common underlying condition was HIV in 61% of cases. The majority of histoplasmosis patients (81%) were treated with amphotericin B formulations. Documented specific treatments for HLH were as follows: nine patients received steroids only, six patients received intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) only, three patients received dexamethasone and etoposide, two patients received etoposide, dexamethasone, and cyclosporine, two patients received steroids and IVIG, and one patient received Anakinra and IVIG. The inpatient case fatality rate was 31% with most of the deaths occurring within two weeks of hospital admission. Conclusions. Histoplasmosis-associated HLH among adults is an uncommon but serious complication with high associated mortality. Early antifungal therapy with a lipid formulation amphotericin B is critical. The initiation of immunosuppressive therapy with regimens like HLH-04 in this disease entity should be individualized.
Polynomial triangle centers on the line at infinity

Points on the line at infinity in the extended plane of a triangle ABC are discussed in terms of barycentric coordinates that are polynomials in the sidelengths a, b, c. Various properties of the line at infinity are discussed, including two theorems, with related conjectures, on polynomial representations of triangle centers that are at opposite ends of a diameter of the circumcircle—along with their isogonal conjugates on the line at infinity. Also considered are an equal-areas locus, symbolic substitution, and historical comments.
The effects of bilingualism on executive functions: an updated quantitative analysis

Several researchers have suggested that learning and using a second language requires domain-general executive functions, and many have shown that bilinguals outperform monolinguals on tasks that tap into these processes. However, recent behavioral studies and meta-analyses reporting failed replications have called into question whether or not bilingualism leads to changes in domain-general executive functions. The present paper argues that there are several reasons, often overlooked, that lead to failed replications, and that when group differences do appear on EF tasks, despite these issues, performance favors bilinguals far more often than monolinguals. The present paper reports a Bayesian analysis of 167 independent studies to support this claim with a Bayes Factor classified as “decisive” evidence for the alternative (BF10 = 2.91 × 108), ruling out chance outcomes that would predict an equal number of studies favoring monolinguals to studies favoring bilinguals. These findings could not be explained by publication bias, year of publication, or sample size. Critically, these findings are not at odds with recent meta-analyses examining overall effect sizes, but rather, highlight the need to determine when, rather than if, bilinguals outperform monolinguals on EF tasks.
Involvement of both intrinsic and extrinsic cell death pathways by 8-amino-adenosine in multiple myeloma

3264 Multiple Myeloma (MM) is an indolent B-cell malignancy, which readily becomes resistant to traditional chemotherapeutic agents. The novel adenosine analog, 8-amino-adenosine (8-NH2-Ado), has been evaluated as a potential therapeutic molecule (Mol Cancer Ther 3:1411, 2004). Studies of 8-NH2-Ado in the MM cell line, MM.1S demonstrated cytotoxicity with an IC50 of 300 nM to 3 μM. The analog accumulated as its triphosphate, 8-NH2-ATP, with a simultaneous decrease in the intracellular ATP pool. Additionally, incubation with 8-NH2-Ado predominantly inhibited RNA synthesis, which is a unique characteristic because analogs such as cladribine and fludarabine primarily inhibit DNA synthesis. The DNA-directed nucleoside analogs initiate cell death primarily through the intrinsic pathway of cell death. Because the mechanism of action of 8-NH2-Ado is RNA directed with an effect on cellular bioenergy, it is likely that cell death may be induced through multiple pathways. To test this postulate, caspase activation was quantified by fluorometric assays. Upon treatment of MM.1S cells with 10 μM 8-NH2-Ado for 12 hrs, caspases-8 and -10 were activated 26- and 46-fold, respectively, suggesting that the extrinsic cell death pathway is involved. In addition, caspases that participate in the intrinsic cell death pathway such as caspases-9, -6, and -3 were activated 28-, 22-, and 9-fold under these conditions. In contrast to these caspases, the endoplasmic reticulum stress related caspase-12 was not activated. To determine the temporal relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic cell death pathways and to identify the initiating caspases, activation of caspases-8 and -9 was evaluated at early time points. Both caspases-8 and -9 were activated at 2 hrs indicating involvement of both these routes for 8-NH2-Ado induced cell death. Previous studies have demonstrated that proapoptotic proteins Bax and Bak induce cell death through the mitochondrial (intrinsic cell death) pathway. To investigate if 8-NH2-Ado could induce cell death in cells lacking Bax and Bak, apoptosis of wild-type and Bax/Bak double knock-out (DKO) MEFs was analyzed by Annexin V binding after incubations with 8-NH2-Ado. Following 6 hrs of treatment with 5 μM 8-NH2-Ado, 65% of the wild type MEFs were Annexin positive, whereas only 31% of the DKO cells were positive, but this value increased to 67% by 18 hrs in DKO cells. Hence, while 8-NH2-Ado was able to induce apoptosis in the DKO cells, the effect was delayed by 12 hrs compared to the WT cells suggesting that both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways are required for efficient 8-NH2-Ado induced cytotoxicity. Ongoing investigations focus on the upstream signaling of these pathways by 8-NH2-Ado in order to understand the mechanism of cell death by this RNA-directed nucleoside analog.
Correction to: Non-linear Transfer Functions for Accurately Estimating 3D Particle Size, Distribution, and Expected Error from 2D Cross Sections of a Lognormal Distribution of Spherical Particles

Accurately estimating the mean size of features within an opaque material using only 2D observations is a common requirement in the materials and medical communities. Attempting to employ numerical methods to obtain an accurate estimate of the full 3D size distribution, which is often important for calculating structure-dependent material properties, is substantially more challenging. This paper circumvents the error propagation issues observed with classical numerical approaches, such as those formulated by Saltikov, Johnson, and Schwartz, through comparison of two calculation methods: (i) the direct simulation of synthetic particles and (ii) inversion of the conventional Saltikov analysis. Each method was used to generate dispersions whose 3D particle diameters followed lognormal distributions of varying shape parameters; the mean and variance were then predicted for 2D cross-sectional measurements. Parameters from both the 2D and 3D distributions were analytically coupled to produce a set of equations for accurately transforming cross-sectional observations into estimates of the full 3D distributions. Accuracy of the 2D-to-3D transformation is, for the first time, characterized as a function of the population size and measurement resolution. Specifically, included figures allow for rapid conversion from 2D to 3D metrics with the corresponding margin of error. The Inverse Saltikov method is shown to provide superior transformation accuracy for the idealized cases of lognormally distributed and randomly dispersed spherical particles when compared to either the Direct Simulation method or classical numerical approaches.
Elucidating relationship between nitrous oxide emission and functional soil microbes from tropical lowland rice soil exposed to elevated CO2: A path modelling approach

Abstract Understanding the effect of elevated atmospheric CO2 on nitrous oxide (N2O) emission and plant-microbe interactions in rice soils is of great significance for predicting the long-term response of rice ecosystems to elevated CO2 concentration. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration has the potential to augment rice production and alter the soil nitrogen (N) dynamics. Because N2O emission is controlled by microbial activity, we reasoned that changes in soil N dynamics and activity of soil microbes may affect N2O flux from rice soil. In order to examine the influence of elevated CO2, different N doses and varying moisture regimes on N2O emission from rice soil, we designed a field experiment with 3 CO2 levels [C1 = ambient CO2 (400 ± 10 μmol mol−1), C2 = elevated CO2 (550 ± 20 μmol mol−1), C3 = elevated CO2 (700 ± 20 μmol mol−1)], 3 N doses [No = No nitrogen, N1 = 100 kg ha−1, N2 = 150 kg ha−1] and 2 moisture regimes (M1 = well watered, M2 = water deficit stress upto −60 kPa). In this study, path analyses using partial least square path modelling (PLS‐PM) approach was used to distinguish the direct and indirect factors influencing N2O emission under ambient and elevated CO2 conditions. Significant increase was found for labile N fractions such as microbial biomass-N (32 %; p ≤ 0.03) whereas significant decrease was found for NH4+-N (40 %; p ≤ 0.0005) and NO3--N (32 %; p ≤ 0.001) concentration under elevated over ambient CO2. Rhizospheric denitrifier population was increased (39 %; p ≤ 0.001) whereas, nitrifier population decreased (41 %; p ≤ 0.001) under elevated as compared to ambient CO2. Exposure of elevated CO2 decreased (20 %; p ≤ 0.001) N mineralization whereas it increased N2O emission (43 %; p ≤ 0.001). Elevated CO2 level increased activities of β- glucosidase, urease and fluorescein diacetate showing significant effects on soil N dynamics. Path modelling (PLS-PM) approach indicated a direct effect of nitrifiers and denitrifiers population on N2O emission and the effect was more pronounced under elevated CO2 as compared to ambient CO2 levels. The developed predictive models for N2O emission clarifies that the effect of varying CO2 levels is more pronounced at rice vegetative stage than reproductive stage.
Snap!6, Introducing Hyperblocks!

In early July we released Snap! version 6, with many cool new features, including a ground-up rewrite to be faster and reduce memory use by up to 20x. However, the most powerful 'big idea' is the introduction of an APL-style programming paradigm, which we call 'Hyperblocks'. This augments all existing reporter-block scalar inputs to accept N-dimensional lists of any shape as arguments as well, instead of being considered a domain error. These 'dimension-generic' blocks allow us to teach complex concepts without the need for loops or our beloved map block. For example, the domain of the multiply block had previously only been numbers, and if we had wanted to return a new list in which all of the elements were multiplied by 10, we would have had to use map(10*( ))over(data). Now we can simply say 10*data! In Snap! 6, Hyperblocks enable fast vectorized computations, making it much more efficient to do data analysis and media computation projects. There's nothing that beats a live demonstration of all these wonderful features, and we have two veteran power users to take it through its paces.
The Cost of Not Training a Surgical Resident

Objective To quantify surgical trainees’ direct financial impact on an academic medical center (AMC) by modeling the cost of replacing them. Design The authors developed a model that estimates the financial costs to an AMC if surgical residents were replaced with surgical first assistants (SFAs) and physician assistants (PAs). Setting One AMC providing tertiary level clinical care. Participants The model accounts for the training, work hours, and salary differential of residents, as well as other factors that are specific to education and support of residents, SFAs, and PAs. Results After accounting for the expenses of surgical residents and the replacement providers in our model, the authors determined that the net cost of replacing 30 surgical residents with PAs and SFAs at one institution is $1,728,628 or $57,621 annually per resident. Conclusions Without considering other larger and arguably more important issues of educational value or population needs, we provide a reproducible model of financial considerations regarding residents in an AMC. The costs (and foregone benefits) of not training residents may provide additional support for the funding of graduate medical education and finding the optimal balance of graduate medical education and other providers.
Higher Order Imprecise Probabilities and Statistical Testing

We generalize standard credal set models for imprecise probabilities to include higher order credal sets -- confidences about confidences. In doing so, we specify how an agent's higher order confidences (credal sets) update upon observing an event. Our model begins to address standard issues with imprecise probability models, like Dilation and Belief Inertia. We conjecture that when higher order credal sets contain all possible probability functions, then in the limiting case the highest order confidences converge to form a uniform distribution over the first order credal set, where we define uniformity in terms of the statistical distance metric (total variation distance). Finite simulation supports the conjecture. We further suggest that this convergence presents the total-variation-uniform distribution as a natural, privileged prior for statistical hypothesis testing.
Brain structure and problematic alcohol use: a test of plausible causation using latent causal variable analysis.

Associations between brain structure and problematic alcohol use may reflect alcohol-induced toxicity and/or preexisting risk. Here, we applied a latent causal variable approach to genome-wide association study summary statistics of problematic alcohol use (n = 435,563) and magnetic resonance imaging-derived brain structure phenotypes (e.g., cortical volume, cortical thickness, white matter volume; ns ranging from 17,706 to 51,665) to test whether variability in brain structure may plausibly contribute to problematic alcohol use and/or whether problematic alcohol use influences brain structure. After correction for multiple testing within each modality, we find evidence that greater volume of the pars opercularis, greater thickness of the cuneus, and lower volume of the basal forebrain may plausibly contribute to problematic alcohol use. All other nominally-significant associations identify brain structure as a potential causal contributor to problematic alcohol use; there was no evidence suggesting that problematic alcohol use may cause differences in brain structure. Collectively, these results challenge common interpretations that associations between alcohol use and brain structure reflect consequences of alcohol, instead supporting emerging work suggesting that brain structure may reflect a predispositional risk factor for alcohol involvement.
A combustion model for multi-component fuels using a physical surrogate group chemistry representation (PSGCR)

Abstract A combustion model to simulate the oxidation of multi-component fuels has been developed and applied to model autoignition combustion processes. The model is called the Physical Surrogate Group Chemistry Representation (PSGCR) method, which combines a multi-component fuel model to describe the physical properties of the fuel with reduced reaction mechanisms to represent the chemistry of the fuel components. A group of physical surrogate (PS) components are used to describe the fuel’s physical properties, such as the distillation profile, specific gravity, lower heating value and hydrogen-to-carbon (H/C) ratio. The oxidation processes of the fuel are modeled using skeletal reaction mechanisms for a group of chemical surrogate (CS) components that employ generic reactions as well as detailed reaction kinetics. The generic reactions were built to model unavailable reaction pathways from physical surrogates to the base CS components or their intermediate species. The model includes the 6 major chemical classes of typical hydrocarbon fuels, i.e., n-paraffins, iso-paraffins, olefins, naphthenes, aromatics and oxygenates, and 65 representative hydrocarbon components are included in a data base for the physical surrogate components and 43 chemical surrogate components are considered for the group chemistry representation. Six types of generic reaction sets are proposed to model the oxidation of 15 physical surrogate components that are called extended-CS (chemical surrogate) components. The present generic reactions are modeled such that the major characteristics of the oxidation process of the fuel components are included in a consistent manner. The final version of the PSGCR reaction mechanism consists of 264 species and 1292 reactions. Validation of the reaction mechanisms was performed by comparing predicted ignition delay times with experimental measurements and/or predictions from comprehensive mechanisms available in the literature. The model was also validated against HCCI experimental data of the FACE fuels. Then the model was applied to simulate practical diesel fuel (F76) spray combustion in a constant volume chamber, and the predicted ignition delay times of the surrogate model fuel were compared with measured values. The results show that the present PSGCR method captures the combustion characteristics of complex multi-component fuels, giving reliable performance for combustion predictions, as well as computational efficiency improvements for multi-dimensional CFD simulations through the use of reduced mechanisms.
Integrating life cycle assessment into managing potential EHS risks of engineered nanomaterials: reviewing progress to date

The 2011 National Nanotechnology Initiative’s Environmental Health and Safety Research Strategy stressed the need for research to integrate life cycle considerations into risk management and, then, to better integrate risk assessment into decisionmaking on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) dimensions of nanomanufacturing. This paper reviews scholarly articles published 2010–2015 that in some way apply life cycle analysis to nanotechnology to assess the extent to which current research reflects the priorities lain out in the NNI report. As the NNI’s focus was primarily on the “responsible development of nanotechnology” we also focus our examination on the ways in which LCA, in concert with other methodologies, can provide utility to decision makers facing the challenge of implementing that broad goal. We explore some of the challenges and opportunities inherent in using LCA, a tool built to optimize manufacturing decisions, as a guide for policy formulation or tool for policy implementation.
Modeling Group Dynamics for Personalized Group-Event Recommendation

Event-Based Social Networks (EBSNs) such as Meetup, Plancast, etc., have become popular platforms for users to plan and organize social events with friends and acquaintances. These EBSNs provide rich online and offline user interactions, and rich event content information which can be leveraged for personalized group-event recommendations. In this paper, we propose collaborative-filtering based Bayesian models which captures group dynamics such as user interactions, user-group membership etc., for personalized group-event recommendations. We show that modeling group dynamics learns the group preferences better than aggregating individual user preferences, and that our approach out-performs popular state-of-the-art group recommender systems. Moreover, our model provides interpretable results which can be used to study the group participations and event popularity.
Organic Cofactors as Coenzymes

A coenzyme is an organic molecule that can bind within enzymes that require its function to catalyze a biochemical reaction. Hence, coenzymes are organic cofactors that augment the diversity of reactions that otherwise would be more limited to chemical properties of side chain substituents from amino acid residues within protein enzymes. Coenzymes bind to apoenzymes to generate catalytically competent holoenzymes. With tight binding, coenzymes may be referred to as prosthetic groups; with loose binding, they may be called cosubstrates. Keywords: Apoenzyme; Cofactor; Holoenzyme; Vitamin
Chromatin deacetylation by an ATP-dependent nucleosome remodelling complex

The dynamic assembly and remodelling of eukaryotic chromosomes facilitate fundamental cellular processes such as DNA replication and gene transcription. The repeating unit of eukaryotic chromosomes is the nucleosome core, consisting of DNA wound about a defined octamer of histone proteins1. Two enzymatic processes that regulate transcription by targeting elements of the nucleosome include ATP-dependent nucleosome remodelling and reversible histone acetylation2,3. The histone deacetylases, however, are unable to deacetylate oligonucleosomal histones in vitro4. The protein complexes that mediate ATP-dependent nucleosome remodelling and histone acetylation/deacetylation in the regulation of transcription were considered to be different, although it has recently been suggested that these activities might be coupled5. We report here the identification and functional characterization of a novel ATP-dependent nucleosome remodelling activity that is part of an endogenous human histone deacetylase complex. This activity is derived from the CHD3 and CHD4 proteins which contain helicase/ATPase domains found in SWI2-related chromatin remodelling factors, and facilitates the deacetylation of oligonucleosomal histones in vitro. We refer to this complex as the nucleosome remodelling and deacetylating (NRD) complex. Our results establish a physical and functional link between the distinct chromatin-modifying activities of histone deacetylases and nucleosome remodelling proteins.
Myocardial lesions in idiopathic and alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Study by ventricular septal biopsy.

Abstract Myocardial biopsy specimens from 20 patients with cardiomyopathy were examined by electron and light microscopy. In 11 of 12 patients with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, loss of contractile elements and closely related sarcoplasmic reticulum was seen. Glycogen increase was common. Structural damage of mitochondria was inconsistently present in 5 patients. Examination revealed normal myocardium in 1 patient. In all 8 patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy, loss of contractile elements and sarcoplasmic reticulum was present. In 5 alcoholic subjects, generalized dilatation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum was a prominent abnormality and in areas of some myofibers was the only structural abnormality. Glycogen increase was common. Mitochondria were structurally normal in 7 patients. Contractile element-sarcoplasmic reticulum disorganization and loss was a consistent ultrastructural abnormality common to both idiopathic and alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This change, whether secondary or primary, represented the major ultrastructural lesion correlating with myocardial dysfunction in our patients. Generalized swelling of the sarcoplasmic reticulum without disorganization appears to be an early manifestation of myocardial damage in alcoholic cardiomyopathy. Similar change was focal and inconsistent in idiopathic cardiomyopathy. This represented the only consistent difference noted in comparing the 2 groups of patients. Structural damage of mitochondria did not appear to be a major lesion in either idiopathic or alcoholic cardiomyopathy; however, in both conditions mitochondrial numbers were decreased in extensively damaged myofibers. Microtubules were identified in human myocardium and were most commonly observed in areas of contractile element-sarcoplasmic reticulum damage.
On the Mechanism of Action at the Acylation Step of the α-Chymotrypsin-catalyzed Hydrolysis of Anilides

Abstract The hydrolysis of a series of substituted anilides of N-acetyl-l-tyrosine by α-chymotrypsin has been investigated. Values of the kinetic parameters have been obtained in water and deuterium oxide solvent systems. It has been shown that the isotope effect decreases as the basicity of the substrate is increased. pH dependence studies have shown that the rate of hydrolysis, k2, is independent of pH above pH 7. The Michaelis-Menten constant, Km increases at both low and high pH values. The relative basicities of the substrates have been measured by titration of a series of model compounds, substituted acetanilides, in protonated and deuterated glacial acetic acid. In this way, it has been possible to examine quantitatively the relationship between the basicity of the substrate and the corresponding rate of α-chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis of the substrates. It has been shown that k2 increases with the basicity of the substrate in both water and deuterium oxide systems. This, together with the observation that the hydrogen isotope effect decreases with increasing basicity, suggests that the substrate is protonated before the transition state. The experimental data are consistent with a mechanism involving a pretransition state protonation equilibrium. The limitations of the present approximate treatment are discussed. It appears to be valid for the anilides studied and for peptides, but not for esters or substituted nitroanilides.
The child development traveling clinic project in Southern California. A report of the first seven years (1959-1965).

This report is the result of a demonstration project illustrating how to develop diagnostic services to young retarded children. The techniques and methods utilized in this project are described. The practicality of a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of mental retardation using the local district public health nurse as the case coordinator is demonstrated. The project suggests that this model of cooperation between a specialized pediatric center and a local health department could be utilized to serve other groups of handicapped children. Furthermore, it appeared that the participation of local professionals in the decision-making process concerning a course of action for the retarded child committed them to greater effort to implement and facilitate such care. In each county served, the clinic appeared to mobilize pediatric and other professional interest in the problems faced by parents of retarded children.
Abstract MP58: Vitamin D Consumption is Not Associated with Incident Heart Failure: the Physicians' Health Study

Background: Previous research investigating the relationship between vitamin D supplementation and incident heart failure (HF) has yielded equivocal results. Limited research exists on the association of dietary vitamin D consumption and the risk of incident heart failure. Objective: We sought to test the hypothesis that vitamin D consumption is associated with a lower incidence of heart failure. Methods and Results: Using a validated food frequency questionnaire, we estimated dietary vitamin D consumption for 19,635 participants of the Physician’s Health Study who were free of HF at baseline. The mean age at baseline was 66.4 ± 9.2 years. Over a mean followup of 9.3 years, 858 cases of incident HF were captured using an annual follow-up questionnaire with validation in a subsample. From the multivariable Cox regression model, hazard ratios (95% CI) of incident HF were 1.0 (reference), 1.49 (1.17 to 1.89), 1.37 (1.07 to 1.75), 1.34 (1.02 to 1.75), and 1.28 (0.94 to 1.75) from lowest to highest quintile of calorie-adjusted vitamin D, respectively, after adjusting for age, BMI, smoking, alcohol, exercise, multivitamin use, fruits and vegetables, chocolate, and breakfast cereal consumption, atrial fibrillation, and valvular heart disease (p for linear trend = 0.71). Conclusions: In this prospective study of male health professionals, dietary vitamin D consumption is associated with a higher risk of HF.
Continent ileocecal augmentation cystoplasty

Objectives: To evaluate the use of the ileocecal bowel segment for bladder augmentation in a select group of patients who need a low pressure, high capacity urinary storage mechanism and a continent, catheterizable, cutaneous stoma that, because of their physical limitations, is easier to catheterize than their native urethra. Methods: We reviewed records of 23 continent ileocecal augmentation cystoplasties performed over the last 5½ years. The goals of the operation, patient selection criteria, pre-operative evaluation, operative technique, and post-operative evaluation with results were studied. Results: Twenty-three patients underwent the procedure with the average follow-up being 26.9 months (range 3–67 months). Bladder capacity was increased by an average of 276.8 milliliters (ml). No metabolic problems have been detected, and 95% (22/23 patients) are continent via their urethra and stoma. Conclusions: This unique modification of the Indiana continent urinary reservoir is not technically difficult to create and is relatively free of complications. The bladder capacity is greatly increased and post-operative continence rates are excellent. Finally, the quality of life for these patients has been significantly improved by their ability to access the augmented bladder independently via an abdominal stoma.
Isotype knice subgroups of global Warfield groups

If H is an isotype knice subgroup of a global Warfield group G, we introduce the notion of a k-subgroup to obtain various necessary and sufficient conditions on the quotient group G/H in order for H itself to be a global Warfield group. Our main theorem is that H is a global Warfield group if and only if G/H possesses an H(ℵ0)-family of almost strongly separable k-subgroups. By an H(ℵ0)-family we mean an Axiom 3 family in the strong sense of P. Hill. As a corollary to the main theorem, we are able to characterize those global k-groups of sequentially pure projective dimension ⩽ 1.