cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 127: Differential Role of Quercetin Treatment on MicroRNA Signaling and Lipid Metabolism in HepG2 Cells Exposed to 13-HPODE

Background: Quercetin is a member of the bioflavonoids family known to have antiatherogenic, antiinflammatory, and antihypertensive properties; and reported to have cardiovascular protective role. Quercetin through its antioxidant action may protect against oxidative stress induced by free radicals consequently decreasing the potential for modification of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Members of a class of non-coding RNAs termed microRNAs have recently been identified to be potent post-transcriptional regulators of lipid metabolism genes, including cholesterol homeostasis. Data from our ongoing study on mice have demonstrated that quercetin mediates lipoprotein gene expression and host of MicroRNAs impacting plasma lipoprotein levels. Aims and Objectives: The goal of this study is to investigate the beneficial protective effect of Quercetin on HepG2 cell line subjected to the treatment of 13-HPODE an oxidatively modified linoleic acid derivative, and also to investigate the effects of treatments on specific group of MicroRNAs. Study Design and Methods: We treated HepG2 cell line with two different Quercetin concentrations: 20 and 40 μmoles in the presence or absence of 13-HPODE an oxidizing agent or Linoleic acid as control. After 12 and 24 hours of treatments, RNAs from treated cells were extracted and gene expressions in the various conditions were performed for selected lipoproteins genes specifically APOA1, ApoC3, APOA5, PPAR-alpha, NPCL1, and ABCA1 examining the protective role of Quercetin against 13-HPODE treated HepG2 cells. In addition we investigated role of quercetin and 13-HPODE on MicroRNAs 21, 29a,155 and 451 In addition; serum deprived mediums were collected and markers of oxidative stress and inflammations, PON1, TNF-alpha, and MCP1 were analyzed using commercially available ELISA kits. Results and Discussion: Our data excitingly shows that Quercetin differentially influences the levels of lipoprotein gene expression, MicroRNAs and oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in HepG2 cells and the medium. Interestingly Quercetin seems to down regulate ApoC3 mRNA expression, and differentially affects ApoA1 and ApoA5 genes and MicroRNA levels. Serum deprived cells TNF-alpha levels seem to follow the prototype shown by the cellular changes, we also did not see dose dependant responses in any of the treatments. Conclusion: Liver cells are responsible for a major part of lipoprotein metabolism, however our studies using HepG2 cells have demonstrated that Quercetin although is known for its antioxidant properties, did not seems to have dose dependant responses to modulate the oxidative stress induced by 13-HPODE and differentially affect the levels of lipoprotein gene expression.
Effect of liberal blood transfusion on clinical outcomes and cost in spine surgery patients.

Abstract Background Context Blood transfusions in spine surgery are shown to be associated with increased patient morbidity. The association between transfusion performed using a liberal hemoglobin trigger—defined as an intraoperative hemoglobin level of ≥10 g/dL, a postoperative level of ≥8 g/dL, or a whole hospital nadir between 8-10 g/dL—and perioperative morbidity and cost in spine surgery patients is unknown and thus was investigated in this study. Purpose To describe the perioperative outcomes and economic cost associated with liberal hemoglobin trigger transfusion among spine surgery patients. Study Design/Setting Retrospective study. Patient Sample The surgical billing database at our institution was queried for inpatients discharged between 2008 and 2015 after the following procedures: atlantoaxial fusion, anterior cervical fusion, posterior cervical fusion, anterior lumbar fusion, posterior lumbar fusion, lateral lumbar fusion, other procedures, and tumor-related surgeries. In total, 6931 patients were included for analysis. Outcome Measures The primary outcome was composite morbidity which was comprised of: (1) infection (sepsis, surgical-site infection, Clostridium dificile, or drug-resistant infection), (2) thrombotic event (pulmonary embolus, deep venous thrombosis, or disseminated intravascular coagulation), (3) kidney injury, (4) respiratory event, and/or (5) ischemic event (transient ischemic attack, myocardial infarction, or cerebrovascular accident). Methods Data on intraoperative transfusion were obtained from an automated prospectively collected anesthesia data management system. Data on postoperative hospital transfusion was obtained through a Web-based intelligence portal. Based on previous research, we analyzed the data using three definitions of a liberal transfusion trigger in patients who received an RBC transfusion: a liberal intraoperative Hb trigger as a nadir Hb level of 10 g/dL or greater, a liberal postoperative Hb trigger as a nadir Hb level of 8 g/dL or greater, or a whole hospital nadir Hb level of 8-10 g/dL. Variables analyzed included in-hospital morbidity, mortality, length of stay, and total costs associated with a liberal transfusion strategy. Results Among patients with a whole hospital stay nadir hemoglobin between 8 to 10 g/dL, transfused patients demonstrated a longer in-hospital stay (median [IQR], 6 [5-9] vs. 4 [3-6] days; P Conclusions Transfusion using a liberal trigger is associated with increased morbidity, even after controlling for possible confounders. Our results suggest that modification of transfusion practice may be a potential area for improving patient outcomes and reducing costs.
The PNPLA3 variant associated with fatty liver disease (I148M) accumulates on lipid droplets by evading ubiquitylation.

A sequence variation (I148M) in patatin-like phospholipase domain-containing protein 3 (PNPLA3) is strongly associated with fatty liver disease (FLD), but the underlying mechanism remains obscure. Here we used knock-in (KI) mice (Pnpla3148M/M) to examine the mechanism responsible for accumulation of triglyceride (TG) and PNPLA3 in hepatic lipid droplets (LDs). No differences were found between Pnpla3148M/M and Pnpla3+/+ mice in hepatic TG synthesis, utilization, or secretion. These results are consistent with TG accumulation in the Pnpla3148M/M mice being caused by impaired TG mobilization from LDs. Sucrose feeding, which is required to elicit fatty liver in KI mice, led to a much larger and more persistent increase in PNPLA3 protein in the KI than in the WT mice. Inhibition of the proteasome (bortezomib), but not macroautophagy (3-methyladenine), markedly increased PNPLA3 levels in WT mice, coincident with the appearance of ubiquitylated forms of the protein. Bortezomib did not increase PNPLA3 levels in Pnpla3148M/M mice, and only trace amounts of ubiquitylated PNPLA3 were seen in these animals. Conclusion: These results are consistent with the notion that the 148M variant disrupts ubiquitylation and proteasomal degradation of PNPLA3, resulting in accumulation of PNPLA3-148M and impaired mobilization of TG from LDs. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Surgical Resection Does Not Improve Survival in Multifocal Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma: A Comparison of Surgical Resection with Intra-Arterial Therapies.

Multifocal intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) has traditionally been treated with surgical resection when amenable. Intra-arterial therapy (IAT) for multifocal ICC has not been directly compared with surgical resection. A single-center, retrospective review of consecutive patients treated for multifocal ICC was conducted. Patients with distant metastases or treatment with systemic chemotherapy alone were excluded. Patients were divided into two groups: surgical resection versus IAT; IAT included transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), transarterial radioembolization (TARE), and hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) pump therapy. Subjects were also analyzed by surgical resection, TACE, and HAI pump therapy. Overall, 116 patients with multifocal ICC were studied, 57 in the surgical resection group and 59 in the IAT group (TACE = 41, HAI pump = 16, TARE = 2). The IAT group was characterized by a higher incidence of bilobar disease (88.1% vs. 47.4%, p < 0.001), larger tumors (median 10.6 vs. 7.5 cm, p = 0.004), higher incidence of macrovascular invasion (44.1% vs. 24.6%, p = 0.027), and higher rate of nodal metastases (57.6% vs. 28.6%, p = 0.002). Median overall survival for surgical resection was 20 months versus 16 months for IAT (p = 0.627). Multivariate analysis found that macrovascular invasion [hazard ratio (HR) 2.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.56–4.09] and non-receipt of systemic chemotherapy (HR 3.81, 95% CI 2.23–6.52) were independent poor prognostic risk factors. Surgical resection was not associated with a survival advantage over IAT on multivariate analysis (p = 0.242). Despite selection bias for use of surgical resection compared with IAT, no survival advantage was conferred in the treatment of multifocal ICC.
Models for Unsymmetrical Active Sites in Metalloproteins: Structural, Redox, and Magnetic Properties of Bimetallic Complexes with MII-(μ-OH)-FeIII Cores

Bimetallic complexes are important sites in metalloproteins but are often difficult to prepare synthetically. We have previously introduced an approach to form discrete bimetallic complexes with MII-(μ-OH)-FeIII (MII = Mn, Fe) cores using the tripodal ligand N,N′,N″-[2,2′,2″-nitrilotris(ethane-2,1-diyl)]tris(2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonamido) ([MST]3–). This series is extended to include the rest of the late 3d transition metal ions (MII = Co, Ni, Cu, Zn). All of the bimetallic complexes have similar spectroscopic and structural properties that reflect little change despite varying the MII centers. Magnetic studies performed on the complexes in solution using electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy showed that the observed spin states varied incrementally from S = 0 through S = 5/2; these results are consistent with antiferromagnetic coupling between the high-spin MII and FeIII centers. However, the difference in the MII ion occupancy yielded only slight changes in the magnetic exchange coupling stre...
CPR: Is It Always an Appropriate Option?

A historical perspective on the overuse and misuse of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Generating Random Test Networks for Shortest Path Algorithms

One of the pillars in the empirical testing of algorithms is the generation of representative and suitably informative test problems. We investigate the particular case of generating random test networks for shortest path problems and discuss several methods proposed for generating such networks. Both analytic and simulation results reveal several pitfalls to avoid in the generation of test networks. We also identify two particular generation methods having desirable characteristics.
Heart Rate Variability Markers as Correlates of Survival in Recipients of Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation

OBJECTIVES To assess pre-/post-transplantation changes in autonomic tone, as measured by heart rate variability (HRV), among patients undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and to look at those changes as they relate to post-transplantation survival rates. . SAMPLE A SETTING Data were derived from a sample of 27 English-speaking patients undergoing allogeneic or autologous HCT at Stanford University. . METHODS A VARIABLES A survival analysis using the Kaplan-Meier estimator was employed to explore whether increased HRV would enhance survival probabilities over time among patients undergoing HCT. . RESULTS An increased probability of survival was significantly related to increases in two HRV indexes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING HRV may be a useful predictor of mortality among patients undergoing HCT. Interventions deliverable by nurses could be used to enhance HRV for patients identified as being at risk for early mortality.
Ternary nickel iron phosphide supported on nickel foam as a high-efficiency electrocatalyst for overall water splitting

Abstract Electrochemical water splitting is a promising technology for mass hydrogen production. Efficient, stable, and cheap electrocatalysts are keys to realizing this strategy. However, high price and preciousness of commonly used noble metal based catalysts severely hinder this realization. Herein, we report nickel iron phosphide (Ni-FexP) bifunctional electrocatalyst via the in-situ growth of Ni Fe(OH)x on nickel foam (Ni Fe(OH)x/NF) followed by low-temperature phosphidation. As a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalyst, the Ni-FexP/NF only needs an overpotential of 119 mV to drive a current density of −10 mA/cm2 in a base media. It also shows excellent activity toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with low overpotentials of 254 mV, 267 mV, and 282 mV at 50, 100 and 200 mA/cm2, respectively. Moreover, when this bifunctional catalyst is used for overall water splitting, a low cell voltage of 1.62 V is needed to deliver a current density of 10 mA/cm2, which is superior to commercial electrolyzer and it also shows remarkable stability.
Intensive Chemoradiotherapy and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in the Treatment of Lymphoma

(1991). Intensive Chemoradiotherapy and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in the Treatment of Lymphoma. Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings: Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 23-24.
The impacts of heavy rain on speed and headway Behaviors: An investigation using the SHRP2 naturalistic driving study data

Abstract Adverse weather conditions can significantly impact roadways by influencing roadway conditions, vehicle performance and driver behavior. Vehicle user characteristics and behavior can be considered as the most important factors affecting the driving task. The ability to see objects in motion, so called “dynamic visual acuity”, and the proper reaction process, such as headway and speed selection, are imperative factors for safe driving. In this study, data from the SHRP2 naturalistic driving study (NDS) are used to provide better understanding of driver speed and headway selection behaviors in clear and rainy weather conditions. A unique procedure to identify rain-related trips from the massive SHRP2 database was introduced in this study. In addition, roadway information database (RID) and NDS were utilized to compare driver behavior in clear and heavy rain conditions using matching trips. Matching trips were defined as trips with same driver, same vehicle, and same traversed routes. Preliminary descriptive statistics, partial proportional odds model, as well as geographical information system analyses showed significant differences between driver behavior and performance in clear and rainy weather conditions. One interesting finding of this research is that drivers were less likely to drive above the speed limits on road segments with higher posted speed limits. In addition, it was found that the probability of reducing speed more than 5 kph below the speed limits were 23% and 29% higher in light rain and heavy rain, respectively. Not only will the findings of the study help in providing better insights on drivers’ behavior and performance in rainy weather conditions, but it will also serve as a foundation for further studies to investigate driver behavioral factors in other weather conditions using naturalistic driving data.
Role of Amide Proton Transfer (APT)-MRI of Endogenous Proteins and Peptides in Brain Tumor Imaging

Amide proton transfer (APT) imaging is a novel molecular MRI technique that can provide endogenous contrast related to mobile protein content in tissue. The preclinical studies and pilot clinical data have shown initial potential for APT imaging to assess brain tumors, such as differentiating between tumor and peritumoral edema, separating high- from low-grade gliomas, and distinguishing between active tumor and radiation necrosis. In this chapter, we briefly introduce the basic principle of APT imaging and overview its current applications for brain tumor assessment in animal models and in patients.
Flow diversion and microvascular plug occlusion for the treatment of a complex unruptured basilar/superior cerebellar artery aneurysm: case report

The authors present the unusual case of a complex unruptured basilar artery terminus (BAT) aneurysm in a 42-year-old symptomatic female patient presenting with symptoms of mass effect. Due to the fusiform incorporation of both the BAT and left superior cerebellar artery (SCA) origin, simple surgical or endovascular treatment options were not feasible in this case. A 2-staged (combined deconstructive/reconstructive) procedure was successfully performed: first occluding the left SCA with a Pipeline embolization device (PED) coupled to a microvascular plug (MVP) in the absence of antiplatelet coverage, followed by reconstruction of the BAT by deploying a second PED from the right SCA into the basilar trunk. Six-month follow-up angiography confirmed uneventful aneurysm occlusion. The patient recovered well from her neurological symptoms. This case report illustrates the successful use of a combined staged deconstructive/reconstructive endovascular approach utilizing 2 endoluminal tools, PED and MVP, to reconstruct the BAT and occlude a complex aneurysm.
Oxidation of reduced porphyrins by the mitochondrial electron transport chain: stimulation by iron and potential role of reactive oxygen species.

Numerous studies have demonstrated a contributory role of iron in the pathogenesis of various inherited and chemically-induced disorders of porphyrin metabolism (porphyrias) (De Matteis et al, 1988, Smith and Francis, 1987, Lambrecht et al, 1988). However, the precise mechanism by which iron leads to excess tissue porphyrin accumulation and excretion in these disorders remains to be determined. Recent studies from these laboratories (Woods and Calas, 1989) have demonstrated that reduced porphyrins (porphyrinogens) are readily oxidized in vitro by reactive oxidizing species, such as superoxide (O 2 − ) and hydroxyl (OH·) radicals, and that this effect is dramatically stimulated by the presence of iron compounds in the reaction mixture. Inasmuch as mitochondria are a principal locus both of porphyrin metabolism (e.g. Tait, 1978) as well as of the generation of reduced oxygen species (O 2 − ), H2O2) (Forman and Boveris, 1982) in cells, it is reasonable to postulate that, in the presence of excess iron, reduced porphyrins could be oxidized by reactive oxidants derived from the mitochondrial electron transport chain, contributing to the accumulation and excretion of oxidized porphyrins observed in iron-exacerbated porphyrinopathies. The present studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that reduced porphyrins are oxidized by reactive oxidants derived from the mitochondrial electron transport chain in the presence of iron.
Use of umbilical cord blood culture for detection of neonatal bacteremia

Rapid and accurate detection of neonatal bacteremia is an important part of the management of the neonate with suspected sepsis. This study compared the incidence of positive umbilical cord blood cultures (UCBCs) to the incidence of positive peripheral venous blood cultures and determined whether a meticulous UCBC technique prevented contamination of culture specimens. Six UCBCs of the 200 sampled were positive. Three cultures exhibited delayed growth (more than 48 hours) and were not considered clinically significant. In 2 of the 3 remaining positive cultures were organisms considered contaminants; the third culture correlated to the infant's peripheral venous blood culture (alpha-hemolytic streptococcus), showing evidence of bacteremia. From these data the authors conclude that 1) meticulous and fastidious collection of UCBCs prevents contamination of culture specimens, and 2) the UCBC may prove to be a satisfactory alternative to the postnatal peripheral venous blood culture for detection of neonatal bacteremia.
Globular Clusters and Two Phase Galaxy Formation: The Milky Way and Beyond

The SLUGGS (SAGES Legacy Unifying Globular clusters and GalaxieS) survey uses Subaru Suprime-Cam and Keck DEIMOS to obtain 2-D kinematic and metallicity maps for 25 nearby early type galaxies out to, typically, 2-3 \(R_{\rm e}\) for galaxy starlight, and 8-10 \(R_{\rm e}\) for globular clusters. While other surveys have much larger galaxy samples, the SLUGGS “claim to fame” is its unprecedentedly wide field coverage coupled with exquisite velocity resolution (∼12 km s\(^{-1}\)). We find strong evidence for 2-phase, or inside out, galaxy formation; major mergers do not appear to have played a dominant role in forming the majority of galaxy bulges. As a spin-off from the main survey we are discovering a significant number of novel objects. These can be loosely classified as UCDs (ultra compact dwarfs), although they occupy areas of size–luminosity–density parameter space hitherto unexplored. Many appear to be the remnant nuclei of stripped galaxies, and may thus be important for “cosmic accounting". Observations are nearing completion and already nearly 40 papers have been published using data from the survey (see http://sluggs.ucolick.org for a list of publications and collaborators).
Assessing the Political Distinctiveness of White Millennials: How Race and Generation Shape Racial and Political Attitudes in a Changing America

White Americans will soon lose their majority status—news that provokes group threat and a conservative response. Yet an alternative outcome focused on white millennials is also possible. This study examines whether young whites are distinct in their racial attitudes and how they react to demographic change. Using two nationally representative surveys from 2012 and 2016 and a nationally representative experiment from 2016, we find that race affects attitudes more than generation, and in no case are white millennials as racially liberal as nonwhites. Exposure to information about changing demography makes white millennials more conservative on some questions, but what matters more is whether respondents are Republicans and identify as white. White millennials are hardly immune to the power of race to shape their attitudes.
States’ Rights and Federal Wrongs: The Misguided Attempt to Label Marijuana Legalization Efforts as a 'States’ Rights' Issue

Advocates for liberalization of the federal statutes outlawing cannabis have argued that the issue whether and how to regulate marijuana should be left to the states to decide. Yet, we do not allow states to decide whether to prohibit other controlled substances, such as heroin, and there is no good reason to put marijuana in a separate category. Since the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act became law in 1938 the nation has authorized the Food and Drug Administration to decide which drugs to approve for therapeutic use. We do not make those decisions the subject of a referendum because the decision requires the expert scientific judgment of professionals in medicine and biochemistry, not the moral judgment of the populace. Congress should re-examine how federal law regulates marijuana, but Congress should be guided by the judgment of the FDA as to the costs and benefits of liberalizing marijuana use.
Healthcare Providers' Attitudes, Knowledge, and Practice Behaviors for Educating Patients About Advance Directives: A National Survey.

Background:Advance care planning for end-of-life care emerged in the mid-1970’s to address the need for tools, such as the advance directive (AD) legal document, to guide medical decision-making am...
Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase-1 promotes inflammasome priming in macrophages

We previously showed that mice deficient in apoptosis signal-regulating kinase-1 (ASK1) were partially protected against ventilator-induced lung injury. Because ASK1 can promote both cell death and...
Learning to Simplify Distributed Systems Management

Managing large-scale distributed systems is a difficult task. System administrators are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of numerous components with complex dependencies. With the shift to microservices-based architectures, these systems can consist of 100s to 1000s of interconnected nodes. To combat this difficulty, administrators rely on analyzing logs and metrics collected from the different services. However, the number of available metrics for large systems presents complexity and scaling issues. To combat these issues, we present Minerva, an unsupervised Machine Learning (ML) framework for performing network diagnosis analysis. Minerva is composed of a multi-stage pipeline, where each component can act individually or cohesively to perform various management tasks. Our system offers a unified and extensible framework for managing the complexity of large networks, and presents administrators with a swiss-army knife for diagnosing the overall health of their systems. To demonstrate the feasibility of Minerva, we evaluate its performance on a production-scale system. We present use cases for the various management tools made available by Minerva, and show how these tools can be used to make strong inferences about the system using unsupervised techniques.
Are there two visual short-term memory stores? A state-trace analysis

Abstract Mainstream theories of visual short-term memory (VSTM) posit that VSTM consists of a single, limited capacity store (e.g., Luck & Vogel, 2013). Recently, however, some researchers (Sligte, Scholte & Lamme, 2008; van Moorselaar et al., 2015; Vandenbroucke et al., 2015) have proposed that VSTM consists of two separate components, a limited capacity (3–4 item) durable store and a fragile, high-capacity (5–7 item) store. To assess the structure of VSTM, these authors used a change detection task that required participants to compare two arrays (a memory array and a test array) separated by a brief temporal interval. Critically, these researchers compared performance under conditions when a cue was shown prior to the test array (retro-cue), or after the test array was shown (post-cue). They reported that participants could recall at least twice as many items in the retro-cue condition as in the post-cue condition and interpreted this as evidence for the existence of an initial stage of VSTM with a much higher capacity than was previously thought. The view that VSTM may consist of two distinct stores challenges decades of evidence and theory on the structure of VSTM. In the current study, we directly examined the architecture of VSTM using state-trace analysis, a direct method for assessing the dimensionality of psychological constructs. We replicated the benefit of presenting retro- versus post-cues on memory. However, the results of the state-trace analysis were consistent with a single store model of VSTM. We conclude that the improvement in performance in the retro-cue condition reflects increased attentional processing of the probed item rather than a distinct memory store.
Computational and experimental optimization of T cell activation

Bead-based activation is widely-used for ex vivo expansion of T cells for either research or clinical purposes. Despite its wide use, culture conditions that can potentially affect the efficiency of bead-based T cell activation has not been extensively documented. With the help of computationally-driven experimental investigations of basic culturing factors, we found that culture density, bead-to-cell ratio, and debeading time can have a major impact on the efficiency of bead-based T cell activation for short-term cultures. Furthermore, discrepancies across expected and observed activation efficiencies helped discover interesting artifacts of bead-based T cell activation.nnnnO_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=152 SRC="FIGDIR/small/629857v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1">nView larger version (104K):norg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@107140corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1b52475org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@16c95cborg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1de5184_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG Human primary T cells were imaged together with activation beads at 20X magnification after three hours of culturing at varying confluencies and bead-to-cell ratios.nnC_FIG
Boosting Global Yellow Fever Vaccine Supply for Epidemic Preparedness: 3 Actions for China and the USA

We advocate for three actions to be taken by the USA and China to help boost global supply of YF vaccine and increase epidemic preparedness and response. First, both nations would work with the WHO to have their YF vaccines prequalified. Thus, their vaccines could be used outside their own borders as part of the international stockpile of YF vaccine as traditionally administrated by the WHO, UNICEF and other members of the multi-partner International Coordinating Group. Second, production of this vaccine would be sharply scaled-up by both countries. These vaccines could be made available nationally, regionally, and globally through the ICG, e.g., to help stop and prevent epidemics anywhere in the world. Third, clinical studies would be coordinated with the WHO to assess the efficacy and safety of fractional dosing using 1/5 normal dose and if needed, even a 1/10 dose.
Targeted Policing for Crime Reduction

The public expects the police to be effective at controlling crime. A considerable amount of research evidence suggests that crime is highly concentrated at a small number of risky places and risky people and tends to be committed at particular times and days of the week. If police can target their resources on these risky people, places, and times, they will be more effective at reducing crime in their jurisdictions. A series of rigorous program evaluations have suggested that particular targeted policing strategies—problem-oriented policing, hot spots policing, and focused deterrence—generate crime reduction impacts. These strategies use crime analysis to ensure that police resources are appropriately targeted on specific crime problems. The strategies also encourage the police to blend strategic enforcement with alternative crime prevention measures through strategic partnerships with other government agencies, social service organizations, community groups, and residents, and to prevent crimes by addressing underlying conditions that give rise to ongoing crime problems. These kinds of targeted policing programs can improve police legitimacy by safeguarding against overly-aggressive and indiscriminate enforcement, promoting police partnerships with neighborhood residents and others, and reducing crime in communities.
Cultivating Appreciation Of Hedonic Products: A Synesthetic Approach to Marketing

> “One can learn about wines and pursue the education of one's palate with great enjoyment all of a lifetime, the palate becoming more educated and capable of appreciation and you having constantly increasing enjoyment and appreciation of wine even though the kidneys may weaken, the big toe
Managing volunteers at disasters

Abstract This chapter informs readers about managing volunteers at disaster and relief sites. The chapter emphasizes local management of disasters by involving emergency managers and volunteer coordinators. Readers then learn about how to organize a volunteer efforts and a volunteer reception center. Throughout the chapter, readers will learn key actions that enable using volunteers effectively and retaining them for long term disaster recovery work.
USE OF BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS IN EARLY PREDICTION OF DELIRIUM TREMENS IN GERIATRIC PATIENTS WITH ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS

Introduction Delirium Tremens (DT) may be an underrecognized entity in the elderly, leading to both morbidity and mortality in patients with alcohol use disorders (AUDs). The clinical institute of withdrawal assessment for alcohol- revised (CIWA-Ar) protocol has been established and widely used in hospital systems for management and prevention of further complications in geriatric patients with AUDs. The CIWA- Ar score is also often used in disposition decision making with patients being discharged from the emergency room for outpatient detoxification if score is Methods The authors conducted a literature review regarding identification and management of delirium tremens in geriatric patients with a history of alcohol use disorder.We searched PubMed using keywords and phrases including: delirium tremens, alcohol withdrawal, chronic alcoholism, CIWA, alcohol effect on CNS, treatment of delirium tremens, treatment of alcohol withdrawal. Results If early identification of delirium tremens and appropriate disposition is the goal that small rural healthcare settings should aim for then it is critical that early predictors of alcohol withdrawal seizures and delirium tremens are clearly established. The overdependence on physical markers such as pulse and blood pressure may be counterproductive in psychiatric units, which lack adequate nursing staff to constantly monitor these vitals. The CIWA-Ar protocol, although validated and useful in many patients with alcohol withdrawal in the general hospital setting, does have drawbacks. Its efficacy and use has not been as successful in patients with complex medical illnesses as well as post-surgical patients. Conclusions Established laboratory tests such as γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) content of serum, and erythrocyte mean corpuscular volume (MCV) are established markers of alcohol intake and provide valuable measures of recent alcohol intake and abstinence. In the same light, homocysteine, potassium levels and platelet counts should be integral part of the assessment of persons with hazardous alcohol consumption. The employment of biochemical markers, electrolyte assessment and BP monitoring along with basic history taking and examination skills in decision making regarding disposition and treatment should form the basis of alcohol use disorder management protocols especially in low resource settings with limited nursing support. This research was funded by: No funding was received for this poster presentation
Forecasting hydrogen production potential in islamabad from solar energy using water electrolysis

Abstract The focus of this study is the use of Machine Learning methods to forecast Solar Hydrogen production potential for the Islamabad region of Pakistan. For this purpose, we chose a Photovoltaic-Electrolytic (PV-E) system to forecast electricity and, hence, hydrogen production. The weather data used for forecasting and simulation were recorded with precise meteorological instruments stationed in Islamabad, over the course of 13 and a half months. Out of the three tested algorithms, Prophet performs the best with Mean Absolute Percentage Error of 3.7%, forecasting a daily average Hydrogen production of 93.3 × 103 kg/Km2. Although, the forecast in this study is made for the month of August and September, during which the local season moves towards winter, this study demonstrates solar hydrogen production, as a green energy source, has a tremendous potential in this region.
Energy Flow in Thin Shell Implosions and Explosions

Energy flow and balance in convergent systems beyond petapascal energy densities controls the fate of late-stage stars and the potential for controlling thermonuclear inertial fusion ignition. Time-resolved x-ray self-emission imaging combined with a Bayesian inference analysis is used to describe the energy flow and the potential information stored in the rebounding spherical shock at 0.22 PPa (2.2 Gbar or billions of atmospheres pressure). This analysis, together with a simple mechanical model, describes the trajectory of the shell and the time history of the pressure at the fuel-shell interface, ablation pressure, and energy partitioning including kinetic energy of the shell and internal energy of the fuel. The techniques used here provide a fully self-consistent uncertainty analysis of integrated implosion data, a thermodynamic-path independent measurement of pressure in the petapascal range, and can be used to deduce the energy flow in a wide variety of implosion systems to petapascal energy densities.
Pathogenesis of Isospora amphiboluri in Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps)

Isospora amphiboluri is a common coccidian found in captive bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps). To minimize the impact of this parasite, it is important to characterize its pathogenesis so that we can develop appropriate methods for diagnosis and treatment. Forty-five juvenile bearded dragons were used for this two-part study. In the first part, ten bearded dragons were infected with 20,000 oocysts per os, while a control group of five animals received only water. Feces were collected over 45 days and screened for oocysts. In the second part, thirty bearded dragons were used to characterize the pathogenesis of I. amphiboluri. Twenty-five bearded dragons were infected as described previously, while five animals served as controls. Five infected bearded dragons and one control were humanely euthanized on days 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20 post-infection for complete necropsies. The pre-patent period for I. amphiboluri was found to be 18.6 ± 1.9 days (range 15–22 days). Histopathology confirmed that I. amphiboluri follows a homoxenous life cycle. Infections begin in the duodenum and progress to the colon over time. The findings of this study can be used to develop better quarantine and treatment protocols for captive bearded dragons.
Multimodal Imaging of Synaptic Vesicles with a Single Probe

A complete understanding of synaptic vesicle recycling requires the use of multiple microscopy methods to obtain complementary information. However, many currently available probes are limited to a specific microscopy modality, which necessitates the use of multiple probes and labeling paradigms. Given the complexity of vesicle populations and recycling pathways, having new single vesicle probes that could be used for multiple microscopy techniques would complement existing sets of tools for studying vesicle function. Here we present a novel probe based on the membrane-binding C2 domain of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) that fulfills this need. By conjugating the C2 domain with different detectable tags, we demonstrate that a single, modular probe can allow synaptic vesicles to be imaged at multiple levels of spatial and temporal resolution.
Preparatory Operation of Automated Distribution Systems for Resilience Enhancement of Critical Loads

This paper proposes a stochastic optimization model for preparatory operation of distributed energy resources that enhance the resilience of critical loads against extreme weather events. Adopting hurricanes as a case study of extreme weather events, a high-precision spatio-temporal hurricane impact analysis model is first developed to enhance the situational awareness of automated distribution systems and generate a set of hurricane-induced outage scenarios. A stochastic mixed-integer conic programming model is then developed for co-optimizing the preparatory schedule of distributed energy storage and distributed generation ahead of hurricane along with post-event decisions of restoring services to customers, while minimizing the expected cost of energy not served as the index to measure the resilience. The proposed model prioritizes the service restoration of critical loads by integrating customer interruption cost function, which captures the customer type and outage costs as well as interruption duration in making restoration decisions. Additionally, a conic power flow model is adopted to accurately capture network operation constraints in pre- and post-outage scenarios. Numerical results conducted on the IEEE 33-bus system show that the proposed model can enhance the performance of automated distribution systems in responding to hurricane-induced outages by efficiently utilizing grid resources to improve the resilience of critical loads.
Exploring variables related to medical surrogate decision-making accuracy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abstract Objective Surrogate medical decision making is common in the United States healthcare system. Variables that may influence surrogate decision making have been proposed. Little work has examined relations between these variables and outcomes of surrogate decision making. This study investigated whether surrogates’ characteristics, including their knowledge of treatment options, and interpersonal factors predicted surrogates’ accuracy and intervention selections. Specifically, predictor variables included: trust in the medical profession, trait-level anxiety, depression, anxiety about COVID-19, religiosity, perceived emotional support, understanding of treatment options, empathy, willingness to accept responsibility for medical decisions, reluctance to burden others, and perceived similarity between oneself and the patient. Methods 154 pairs of patients and their surrogates completed an online survey. Patients indicated preferred treatments in hypothetical decision scenarios. Surrogates indicated the treatment that they thought the patient would prefer. Results When taken all together in a predictive model, the variables significantly predicted surrogatesʼ accuracy, F (6) = 3.03, R2 = .12, p = .008. Variables also predicted selection of intensive interventions, F (4) = 5.95, R2 = .14, p = .00. Surrogates reporting greater anxiety about COVID-19 selected more intensive interventions. Conclusions Consistent with prior research, this study found that surrogates’ characteristics influence the interventions they choose, with anxiety about COVID-19 having considerable bearing on their chosen interventions. Practice implications These findings can inform development of decision-making interventions to improve surrogates’ accuracy. Providers may attend to variables highlighted by this study to support surrogates, particularly within the stressful context of COVID-19 and possible future pandemics.
Gut microbes impact stroke severity via the trimethylamine N-oxide pathway

Clinical studies have demonstrated associations between circulating levels of the gut-microbiota-derived metabolite trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and stroke incident risk. However, a causal role of gut microbes in stroke has not yet been demonstrated. Herein we show that gut microbes, through dietary choline and TMAO generation, directly impact cerebral infarct size and adverse outcomes following stroke. Fecal microbial transplantation from low- versus high-TMAO-producing human subjects into germ-free mice shows that both TMAO generation and stroke severity are transmissible traits. Furthermore, employing multiple murine stroke models and transplantation of defined microbial communities with genetically engineered human commensals into germ-free mice, we demonstrate that the microbial cutC gene (an enzymatic source of choline-to-TMA transformation) is sufficient to transmit TMA/TMAO production, heighten cerebral infarct size, and lead to functional impairment. We thus reveal that gut microbiota in general, specifically the metaorganismal TMAO pathway, directly contributes to stroke severity.
U.S. school principals and special education legal knowledge: A scoping review

Abstract School principals and assistant principals shoulder the responsibility of ensuring educational access for all their students. Though they make up only a small fraction of their school population, students with disabilities demand much administrator time and attention. In the United States, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) outlines many specific policies and procedures to be followed. Failure to understand and comply with the federal requirements can result in strained relationships with families and an inability to resolve educational difficulties. Little is known about U.S. school principals' and assistant principals' relative special education legal knowledge. Using scoping and systematic review methodology, this review aimed to determine the extent to which U.S. school principals and assistant principals have been assessed concerning their special education legal knowledge. More specifically, it examined the aggregated characteristics of the principal respondents and assessment measures, and the extent to which principals or assistant principals were able to answer assessment questions correctly. This review identified 12 sources with an aggregated sample of over 1500 U.S. school principals comparable to national demographics. Findings indicate that principals, on average, can answer roughly 60% of questions on special education law. Assessments varied in length and content. Implications for research, policy, and practice are discussed.
Changing Longevity, Social Security Retirement Benefits, and Potential Adjustments

Long-term increases in life expectancy have varied for individuals with different lifetime earnings levels. This article examines two hypothetical adjustments to Social Security Old Age and Survivors Insurance benefits that would offset the differential changes in projected life expectancy. The authors use the Modeling Income in the Near Term microsimulation model to analyze how the adjustments would affect benefits for beneficiaries across the lifetime earnings distribution.
The Concept of Cost in Economics

We will examine first a concept of cost which has some claim to orthodoxy, and after that consider the concept of real cost which was held by Jevons and Marshall. According to the orthodox view, the cost of any choice is the most favorable alternative which the individual gives up in making the choice: it is the opportunity just displaced and may be referred to either as the opportunity cost or the displacement cost.1
Identifying spatial variation patterns in multivariate manufacturing processes: A blind separation approach

Large sets of multivariate measurement data are now routinely available through automated in-process measurement in many manufacturing industries. These data typically contain valuable information regarding the nature of each major source of process variability. In this article we assume that each variation source causes a distinct spatial variation pattern in the measurement data. The model that we use to represent the variation patterns is of identical structure to one widely used in the so-called “blind source separation” problem that arises in many sensor-array signal processing applications. We argue that methods developed for blind source separation can be used to identify spatial variation patterns in manufacturing data. We also discuss basic blind source separation concepts and their applicability to diagnosing manufacturing variation.