cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maternal, Birth, and Early-Life Influences on Adult Body Size in Women

The authors conducted a follow-up study of 261 women born during 1959–1965 (38% White, 40% AfricanAmerican, and 22% Latina) to investigate whether maternal and infant factors are independently associated with adult body size after accounting for childhood growth. Standard statistical methods (linear regression and logistic regression) were compared with quantile regression methods to assess the independent effect maternal factors (body mass index (BMI; weight (kg)/height (m) 2 ), maternal weight gain), birth measures (birth weight, placental weight), and early infancy and childhood growth measures (birth–4 months, 4 months–1 year, and 1–7 years) have on predicting adult body size. While most of these factors were important predictors of BMI at age 20 years, the size and relative importance of the effect differed across models. For example, maternal weight gain was associated with being overweight (BMI � 25) at age 20 years (per 10-pound (4.5-kg) change, odds ratio ¼ 1.65, 95% confidence interval: 1.11, 2.44) and was associated with the upper quantiles (� 75th percentile) of BMI at age 20 years. In contrast, maternal BMI and birth weight were relatively more important for lower quantiles, particularly at age 40 years. Only rapid growth from ages 1 to 7 years was an important predictor of adult BMI at both age 20 and age 40, irrespective of statistical model. However, the persistence of effects of maternal and infant factors on adult BMI, even after rapid childhood growth is accounted for, suggests a greater need to investigate these earlylife influences and whether their impact differs for smaller and larger women.
Variations in the composting process for different organic carbon sources.

Three mixtures of organic materials, each having a different material as the major carbon source, were composted in bench-scale compost units. Results of the compost trials indicate that mixtures of organic materials which have adequate nitrogen and are blended to have equal amounts of carbon and water and equal bulk densities may compost at different rates. These differences show the importance of the relative ease with which micro-organisms can oxidise the carbon (i.e. microbial availability of the carbon) in organic carbon sources when organic materials are blended to optimum C:N ratios for high-rate composting processes. Three soluble carbon fractions were quantified for each of the mixtures. The soluble carbon fractions produced mixed results as indicators of the microbial availability of the carbon in the three mixtures and their use cannot be recommended for prediction of how well a material will compost.
Physicians' Self-Directed Learning: A New Perspective for Continuing Medical Education. I. Reading.

Eds.' note: This is Part I. of a MOBIUS series on styles of self- directed learning among physicians, excerpted from a monograph produced by Dr. Richards. We are pleased to offer it to our readers.
Tripping of wind turbines during a system fault

In a power system with significant wind power penetration, the tripping of wind turbines for a system fault condition can be a major concern to the system operator. With wind turbines employing different under-voltage protection settings available in the system, a fault on a transmission line can lead to tripping of a large number of wind farms depending on the voltages at the wind farm buses during the fault and the protection settings of the wind farms. As a result, an N-l contingency may evolve into an N-(K+1) contingency, where K is the number of wind farms tripped due to low voltage conditions during a fault. The severity of such a condition depends on the output of the wind farms during a fault, and if it coincides with the high wind and off peak loading condition, it might lead to system instabilities. Therefore, it is important for the system operator to be aware of such limiting events during system operation and be prepared to take proper control actions. This can be achieved by incorporating the wind farm tripping status during N-1 static security assessment procedure. In this paper a methodology based on Z-bus algorithm is proposed to determine the tripping status of wind farms for a worst case fault, so that it can be used in contingency evaluation procedure. The proposed algorithm is implemented in MATLAB and tested with a 23 bus test system.
Ab initio prediction of peptide‐MHC binding geometry for diverse class I MHC allotypes

Since determining the crystallographic structure of all peptide-MHC complexes is infeasible, an accurate prediction of the conformation is a critical computational problem. These models can be useful for determining binding energetics, predicting the structures of specific ternary complexes with T-cell receptors, and designing new molecules interacting with these complexes. The main difficulties are (1) adequate sampling of the large number of conformational degrees of freedom for the flexible peptide, (2) predicting subtle changes in the MHC interface geometry upon binding, and (3) building models for numerous MHC allotypes without known structures. Whereas previous studies have approached the sampling problem by dividing the conformational variables into different sets and predicting them separately, we have refined the Biased-Probability Monte Carlo docking protocol in internal coordinates to optimize a physical energy function for all peptide variables simultaneously. We also imitated the induced fit by docking into a more permissive smooth grid representation of the MHC followed by refinement and reranking using an all-atom MHC model. Our method was tested by a comparison of the results of cross-docking 14 peptides into HLA-A*0201 and 9 peptides into H-2K(b) as well as docking peptides into homology models for five different HLA allotypes with a comprehensive set of experimental structures. The surprisingly accurate prediction (0.75 A backbone RMSD) for cross-docking of a highly flexible decapeptide, dissimilar to the original bound peptide, as well as docking predictions using homology models for two allotypes with low average backbone RMSDs of less than 1.0 A illustrate the method's effectiveness. Finally, energy terms calculated using the predicted structures were combined with supervised learning on a large data set to classify peptides as either HLA-A*0201 binders or nonbinders. In contrast with sequence-based prediction methods, this model was also able to predict the binding affinity for peptides to a different MHC allotype (H-2K(b)), not used for training, with comparable prediction accuracy.
A Rogues' Gallery of Usage Problems

This article covers some contemporary English usage problems that appear in legal writing, including dangling modifiers, confusing deletions of the relative pronoun "that," and misuse of "begs the question" and "as such."
Barack Obama's War on Terror

Jack Goldsmith effectively underscores many of the policy and legal continuities between President Barack Obama's war on terror and that of his predecessor, Georg W. Bush. Offering a mostly favorable interpretation of this surprising recent development, Goldsmith argues that checks and balances have operated effectively to counter the initial excesses of the "war on terror." A far-reaching and mostly admirable process of institutional learning has occurred over the course of the last decade, resulting in what appears to be an emerging consensus about how best to combat terrorism. Unfortunately, Goldsmith's account rests on a conceptually imprecise notion of checks and balances, and it overstates the extent to which conventional institutional mechanisms have sufficiently reined in the executive. Its surprisingly -- and sometimes inappropriately -- positive assessment of the existing US constitutional system leads the author not only to downplay the more controversial facets of US counterterrorism since 9/11, but also to obfuscate some of the peculiarities of President Obama's updated version of the war on terror.
Functionally graded material of 304L stainless steel and inconel 625 fabricated by directed energy deposition: Characterization and thermodynamic modeling

Abstract Many engineering applications, particularly in extreme environments, require components with properties that vary with location in the part. Functionally graded materials (FGMs), which possess gradients in properties such as hardness or density, are a potential solution to address these requirements. The laser-based additive manufacturing process of directed energy deposition (DED) can be used to fabricate metallic parts with a gradient in composition by adjusting the volume fraction of metallic powders delivered to the melt pool as a function of position. As this is a fusion process, secondary phases may develop in the gradient zone during solidification that can result in undesirable properties in the part. This work describes experimental and thermodynamic studies of a component built from 304L stainless steel incrementally graded to Inconel 625. The microstructure, chemistry, phase composition, and microhardness as a function of position were characterized by microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and microindentation. Particles of secondary phases were found in small amounts within cracks in the gradient zone. These were ascertained to consist of transition metal carbides by experimental results and thermodynamic calculations. The study provides a combined experimental and thermodynamic computational modeling approach toward the fabrication and evaluation of a functionally graded material made by DED additive manufacturing.
Strain Modification and Thermal Stability of SixGe1−x Films Grown by Ion-Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Significant changes in strain are produced in Si x Ge 1−x epitaxial films grown on Si and Ge (001) substrates as a result of low energy ion beam assisted molecular beam epitaxy (IAMBE). Films grown with concurrent Ar + or Xe + ion bombardment are coherent and uniformly strained in the growth direction by up to 1.5% in Ge films and 0.5% in Si films and contain no dislocations. The dependence of the films strain perpendicular to the growth surface on ion-atom flux ratio, and ion energy can be explained by the injection of uniformly distributed point defects. Post-growth isochronal annealing of Si x Ge 1−x films suggests that the existing defects in the IAMBE films are defect complexes and that the strain relaxation path is determined by the overall thermodynamic driving force toward the strain-relieved state.
Two- to one-dimensional crossover in graphene quantum dot arrays observed in reduced graphene oxide nanoribbons

We investigate how the electron transport properties of graphene quantum dot (GQD) arrays transition from two dimensions (2D) to one dimension (1D) in lithographically defined reduced graphene oxide nanoribbons (RGONRs). From the low-temperature electron transport measurements of 200-, 100-, and 50-nm-wide RGONRs, we find that the energy barrier for charge transport increases with decreasing RGONR width in both the Coulomb blockade and the variable-range hopping regime. Different charge transport parameters for 200-nm RGONR are in agreement with 2D transport while these parameters show a gradual transition to 1D transport in 50-nm RGONR.
Embodied energy: Mobile devices and cars [Numbers Don't Lie]

STATISTICS ON THE PRODUCTION OF ENERGY are fairly reliable; accurate statistics on the consumption of energy by major sectors are harder to come by; and data on the energy consumed in the production of specific goods are even less reliable. Such energy embodied in products is part of the environmental price we pay for everything we own and use. The estimation of the embodied energy of finished goods relies not only on indisputable facts–so much steel in a car, so many microchips in a computer–but also on the inevitable simplifications and assumptions that must be made to derive overall rates. Which model of car? Which computer or phone? The challenge is to select reasonable, representative rates; the reward is to get a new perspective on the man-made world.
Narrative and Ideology: The Promises and Pitfalls of Postliberal Theology

With its focus on “narrative” and theology as an ethnographic enterprise, the “postliberalism” of Hans W. Frei and George A. Lindbeck sought to incorporate insights from the linguistic turn in modern thought. However, it has faced criticisms ranging from sectarianism to concern with its overly static and homogeneous conceptions of “narrative” and “Christian community” that fail to recognize the church’s participation in many overlapping communities of discourse. In this essay, I explore such criticisms and their recognition of the varied narratives and discursive practices by which Christian communities are formed, in ways both recognized and unrecognized. I then examine the work of Ugandan Catholic theologian Emmanuel Katongole which gives due attention to “narrative” and ideology, and in doing so, demonstrates “postliberal” theology’s insights while also compensating for its weaknesses.
Management of antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia

Abstract Introduction: Antipsychotics represent a large portion of the psychotropics that may induce hyperprolactinemia. Clinical psychiatric pharmacists must be adept in stratifying the relative risk of hyperprolactinemia among psychotropics, identifying patient risk factors, recognizing differential diagnoses, and recommending therapeutic alternatives and treatment strategies. High-potency, typical antipsychotics are more likely to elevate prolactin although exceptions to the rule exist. Methods: A literature search of PubMed and Google Scholar was performed to identify English language articles on the treatment of antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia in humans. Methodological rigor is summarized for compiled studies in addition to feasibility and limitations of application to clinical practice. Results: There is an absence of robust evidence for the management of antipsychotic-induced hyperprolactinemia. Among the pharmacological treatments studied, aripiprazole (switching or augmentation) possesse...
Optimal Solar Sail Orbit Transfers to Synchronous Orbits

The recent development of a strong, lightweight, thin-member substrate may provide the technological breakthrough that will enable heliocentric solar sailing missions. The missions considered in this paper used solar sails to transfer to a heliocentric circular orbit and then to apply a constant outward radial thrust acceleration. This radial acceleration allows the spacecraft to have a larger period than the Keplerian period at that radius. Heliocentric circular orbits are designed to match the orbital period of Earth or Mars and these designed orbits are termed synchronous orbits. Optimal control theory is applied to determine minimum-time solar sail orbit transfers for a range of Earth and Mars synchronous orbits and several numerical results are presented.
Serotonin-Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors

Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) are used to treat chronic pain conditions as neuropathy and fibromyalgia and mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. They generally have a more favorable side-effect profile than TCAs.
Complex path of history straightened out

CAO is a remarkable man who has written a remarkable book. He has spent most of his adult life in Chinese jails, in labour camps or under house arrest. He learned his physics without guidance – imagine doing physics under house arrest for six years, with a red guard at your front door – until he arrived at Cambridge, UK, in 1983. He got his degree there in 1988, and then moved to the philosophy department at Boston University. Now he has produced a work that covers the history and philosophy of general relativity, quantum field theory and gauge theories. It is a readable book that is nonetheless accurate and well documented.
Cocaine Potency at the Dopamine Transporter Tracks Discrete Motivational States During Cocaine Self-Administration.

Although the dopamine transporter (DAT) is the primary site of action for cocaine, and the dopamine system is known to mediate the reinforcing effects of cocaine, the dopaminergic variations underlying individual differences in cocaine self-administration behaviors are not fully understood. Recent advances in the application of economic principles to operant tasks in rodents have allowed for the within-subject, within-session determination of both consummatory and appetitive responding for reinforcers. Here we combined a behavioral economics approach with cocaine self-administration and ex vivo voltammetric recording of dopamine signaling in the core of the nucleus accumbens of rats to determine the relationship between dopamine signaling and discrete aspects of cocaine taking and seeking. We found neither dopamine release or uptake tracked individual differences in cocaine consumption or the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine. Cocaine potency at the DAT was correlated with reinforcing efficacy, but was not related to cocaine consumption. Further, we introduce a novel analysis that determines perseverative responding within the same procedure, and find that cocaine potency at the DAT also tracks differences in perseverative responding. Together, we demonstrate that cocaine effects at the DAT determine the reinforcing efficacy of cocaine, and perseverative responding for sub-threshold doses of cocaine that do not maintain responding when presented in isolation. Surprisingly, we find that variations in cocaine potency do not account for differences in cocaine consumption, suggesting that satiation for cocaine is determined by other targets or mechanisms. Finally, we outline a novel approach for relating drug–target interactions and potency to discrete motivational states during a single self-administration session.
Treatment of ADHD and Epilepsy or Abnormal EEG

The comorbidity of ADHD and epilepsy is reviewed by researchers at the Universities of Rome and Chieti, Italy.
The role of microgrids in enhancing macrogrid resilience

The smart grid is generally considered to be the next generation power system that will significantly enhance the efficiency and reliability of the power grid, particularly with the integration of renewable energy resources and demand response. In the context of the power grid as a major critical infrastructure supporting other critical infrastructure systems, resiliency and security have become increasingly important. The recent occurrence of extreme weather events and blackouts underscore the need for a resilient power grid that can quickly recover and restore critical services in the case of disruptions. This research explores the resilience of an electricity distribution network that is supported in part by microgrids. In particular, this study examines how microgrids can enhance the resilience of future power systems during emergencies, both natural and manmade, by planning for significant events and bolstering capabilities to recover quickly with minimal damage. Results of this paper provide a better understanding of both issues and solutions related to using microgrids to enhance power grid resiliency, and will provide insights on future research directions.
Future Pharmacotherapy for Obesity: New Anti-obesity Drugs on the Horizon

Obesity is a global health crisis with detrimental effects on all organ systems leading to worsening disease state and rising costs of care. Persons with obesity failing lifestyle therapies need to be escalated to appropriate pharmacological treatment modalities, medical devices, and/or bariatric surgery if criteria are met and more aggressive intervention is needed. The progression of severe obesity in the patient population coupled with related co-morbidities necessitates the development of novel therapies for the treatment of obesity. This development is preceded by increased understanding of the underpinnings of energy regulation and neurohormonal pathways involved in energy homeostasis. Though there are approved anti-obesity drugs available in the USA, newer drugs are now in the pipeline for development given the urgent need. This review focuses on anti-obesity drugs in the pipeline including centrally acting agents (setmelanotide, neuropeptide Y antagonist [velneperit], zonisamide-bupropion [Empatic], cannabinoid type-1 receptor blockers), gut hormones and incretin targets (new glucagon-like-peptide-1 [GLP-1] analogues [semaglutide and oral equivalents], amylin mimetics [davalintide, dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists], dual action GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonists [oxyntomodulin], triple agonists [tri-agonist 1706], peptide YY, leptin analogues [combination pramlintide-metreleptin]), and other novel targets (methionine aminopeptidase 2 inhibitor [beloranib], lipase inhibitor [cetilistat], triple monoamine reuptake inhibitor [tesofensine], fibroblast growth factor 21), including anti-obesity vaccines (ghrelin, somatostatin, adenovirus36). With these new drugs in development, anti-obesity therapeutics have potential to vastly expand allowing better treatment options and personalized approach to obesity care.
Binocular Integration Manifests as a Transient Spiking Increase Followed by Selective Suppression in Primary Visual Cortex

Research throughout the past decades revealed that neurons in primate primary visual cortex (V1) rapidly integrate the two eyes' separate signals into a combined binocular response. The exact mechanisms giving underlying this binocular integration remain elusive. One open question is whether binocular integration occurs at a single stage of sensory processing or in a sequence of computational steps. To address this question, we examined the temporal dynamics of binocular integration across V1's laminar microcircuit of awake behaving monkeys. We find that V1 processes binocular stimuli in a dynamic sequence that comprises at least two distinct phases: A transient phase, lasting 50-150ms from stimulus onset, in which neuronal population responses are significantly enhanced for binocular stimulation compared to monocular stimulation, followed by a sustained phase characterized by widespread suppression in which feature-specific computations emerge. In the sustained phase, incongruent binocular stimulation resulted in response reduction relative to monocular stimulation across the V1 population. By contrast, sustained responses for binocular congruent stimulation were either reduced or enhanced relative to monocular responses depending on the neurons' selectivity for one or both eyes (i.e., ocularity). These results suggest that binocular integration in V1 occurs in at least two sequential steps, with an initial additive combination of the two eyes' signals followed by the establishment of interocular concordance and discordance.
A. Reduction of the Vector Green's Formula for E

First published in 1981, Robert S. Elliott's Antenna Theory and Design is one of the most significant works in electromagnetic theory and applications. In its broad-ranging, analytic treatment, replete with supporting experimental evidence, Antenna Theory and Design conveys fundamental methods of analysis that can be used to predict the electromagnetic behavior of nearly everything that radiates. After more than two decades, it remains a key resource for students, professors, researchers, and engineers who require a comprehensive, in-depth treatment of the subject. In response to requests from many of our members, IEEE is now reissuing this classic. Newly revised, it once again will be an invaluable textbook and an enduring reference for practicing engineers. The IEEE Press Series on Electromagnetic Wave Theory offers outstanding coverage of the field. It consists of new titles of contemporary interest as well as reissues and revisions of recognized classics by established authors and researchers. The series emphasizes works of long-term archival significance in electromagnetic waves and applications. Designed specifically for graduate students, researchers, and practicing engineers, the series provides affordable volumes that explore and explain electromagnetic waves beyond the undergraduate level.
Poly(ethylene glycol)-containing Hydrogels for Oral Protein Delivery Applications

Novel pH-sensitive hydrogels were developed as suitable candidates for carriers in bioMEMS devices as well as for oral delivery of therapeutic peptides and proteins due to their ability to respond to environmental pH change. Macromonomers containing various PEG molecular weights were synthesized and used to prepare P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels were by photopolymerization. P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels showed a drastic change of the equilibrium swelling ratio between pH 2.2 and 7.0. At pH 7.0, hydrogels with PEGMA2000 exhibited higher swelling ratio than hydrogels with PEGMA1000. For both hydrogels with PEGMA1000 and PEGMA2000, the swelling mechanism became more relaxation-controled as the environmental pH changed from 2.2 to 7.0 due to the ionization of the functional groups in polymer networks at high pH. In vitro release studies of insulin were conducted. P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels exhibited drastic increase of insulin release as the pH of the medium was changed from acidic to basic. Insulin release from P(MAA-g-EG) hydrogels with PEGMA2000 was slower than from hydrogels with PEGMA1000 at both low and high pH. These results were used to design and improve protein release behavior from these carriers.
Analyse der Einstellungs-Compliance

Viele neuere Psychotherapieformen setzen zwischen den einzelnen Psychotherapiesitzungen systematisch aufgebaute Selbsthilfeprogramme in der Art von Hausaufgaben ein. Der Therapieerfolg hangt nicht unwesentlich davon ab; inwieweit der Patient geplante Ubungen auch tatsachlich durchfuhrt. Die so vom Patienten geforderte therapeutische Kooperation kann im allgemeineren Zusammenhang von Selbstkontrolle (s. Kap. 39) und Motiviertheit gesehen werden. Da mangelnde Mitarbeit den Therapieerfolg gefahrden kann, sind. spezielle therapeutische Anstrengungen zur Verbesserung der Patientenkooperation unerlaslich [3] (vgl. auch Kap. 46, 61).
Short survival time following palliative-intent hypofractionated radiotherapy for non-resectable canine thyroid carcinoma: A retrospective analysis of 20 dogs.

Radiotherapy is the treatment of choice for non-resectable canine thyroid carcinoma. High tumor response rates and median survival times of 2 years or longer have been previously reported with conventionally fractionated and hypofractionated protocols, even in dogs with distant metastasis. The objective of this retrospective, descriptive, case series study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of dogs with thyroid carcinoma irradiated with palliative intent using hypofractionated radiotherapy at our institution. Medical records of 20 dogs treated between 1999 and 2014 were reviewed. All dogs had macroscopic primary tumors and presented with tumor-related clinical signs. Median longest tumor diameter was 10 cm. Nineteen dogs (95%) had metastasis (7/19 lymph node; 16/19 distant metastasis). Most dogs were treated with four weekly fractions of 6.5-8 Gy. Radiotherapy was well tolerated in 17 dogs; three died of respiratory compromise before completing radiotherapy. Eleven dogs received adjuvant chemotherapy. Five dogs experienced a local tumor response including two complete and three partial responses. Overall median survival time was 170 days (range, 1-824 days; 95% CI: 58-392 days). Of potential variables examined (radiation delivery system and protocol, tumor size and location, vascular/lymphatic invasion, metastatic disease, chemotherapy, tumor response), only achievement of complete or partial response was predictive of overall survival. In contrast to previously reported cohorts, dogs with clinical signs and stage IV disease predominated in this study. Previous studies may over-estimate survival following hypofractionated radiotherapy in dogs with advanced thyroid carcinoma.
Acute Vasoreactivity Testing during Cardiac Catheterization of Neonates with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia-Associated Pulmonary Hypertension

Objectives To assess whether better baseline pulmonary hemodynamics or positive acute vasoreactivity testing (AVT) during cardiac catheterization are associated with improved outcomes in infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and pulmonary hypertension (PH). Study design This retrospective, single-center study included 26 premature neonates with BPD who underwent catheterization to evaluate PH. AVT was assessed with exposure to 100% fractional inspired oxygen with or without inhaled nitric oxide. AVT was positive if the patient met the Barst criteria or increased shunt volume and decreased pulmonary vascular resistance index by >50%. Results At baseline, the median pulmonary artery mean pressure was 29 mm Hg (IQR, 24-35) and the pulmonary vascular resistance index was 5.3 units*m2 (IQR, 3.5-6.9). Nine patients (35%) had a positive AVT response, which was associated with a decreased risk of death or tracheostomy by 2-year follow-up (hazard ratio, 0.15; P = .02). Baseline pulmonary hemodynamics and the presence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction were not associated with late outcomes in this cohort. Conclusions We found that 35% of infants with BPD who underwent catheterization had positive AVT and that a positive response was associated with better long-term outcomes than nonresponders. AVT better distinguishes higher from lower risk PH in infants with BPD than baseline pulmonary hemodynamics. AVT may aid in the assessment of disease severity and management of BPD-associated PH.
Phenotypic Suppression of ALS/FTD-Associated Neurodegeneration Highlights Mechanisms of Dysfunction

A fundamental question regarding the etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is whether the various gene mutations associated with the disease converge on a single molecular pathway or act through multiple pathways to trigger neurodegeneration. Notably, several of the genes and cellular processes implicated in ALS have also been linked to frontotemporal dementia (FTD), suggesting these two diseases share common origins with varied clinical presentations. Scientists are rapidly identifying ALS/FTD suppressors that act on conserved pathways from invertebrates to vertebrates to alleviate degeneration. The elucidation of such genetic modifiers provides insight into the molecular pathways underlying this rapidly progressing neurodegenerative disease, while also revealing new targets for therapeutic development.
A large-scale Twitter dataset for drug safety applications mined from publicly existing resources.

With the increase in popularity of deep learning models for natural language processing (NLP) tasks, in the field of Pharmacovigilance, more specifically for the identification of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs), there is an inherent need for large-scale social-media datasets aimed at such tasks. With most researchers allocating large amounts of time to crawl Twitter or buying expensive pre-curated datasets, then manually annotating by humans, these approaches do not scale well as more and more data keeps flowing in Twitter. In this work we re-purpose a publicly available archived dataset of more than 9.4 billion Tweets with the objective of creating a very large dataset of drug usage-related tweets. Using existing manually curated datasets from the literature, we then validate our filtered tweets for relevance using machine learning methods, with the end result of a publicly available dataset of 1,181,993 million tweets for public use. We provide all code and detailed procedure on how to extract this dataset and the selected tweet ids for researchers to use.
6.07 – Chemical Glycobiology

Carbohydrates are essential biological building blocks. Organisms assemble monosaccharides into a wide variety of glycan structures that give rise to diverse functions, from prokaryotic cell wall structure to eukaryotic signal transduction. Biosynthesis of oligosaccharides is difficult to control and typically results in heterogeneous structures, impeding efforts to elucidate the biological functions of these molecules. Chemists are uniquely capable of addressing mechanistic questions in glycobiology by virtue of their ability to synthesize homogeneous glycans and their analogs. To demonstrate the power of Chemical Glycobiology, this chapter describes key examples where synthetically prepared glycans have been used to manipulate and interrogate biological systems. These examples fall into four categories: total synthesis of naturally occurring glycans, chemoenzymatic synthesis of unnatural monosaccharide building blocks, glycan metabolic engineering to intercept metabolic pathways, and the use of photoreactive groups to capture glycan-mediated interactions.
Hypomagnesemia and incidence of osteoradionecrosis in patients with head and neck cancers

Background We aimed to determine whether hypomagnesemia predicts osteoradionecrosis development in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx and oral cavity who received platinum-based concurrent chemoradiation with or without induction therapy. Methods We reviewed data from patients with head and neck cancers who had undergone chemoradiation with weekly cisplatin/carboplatin between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2014 at our institution. Pathologic features, laboratory test results, disease stage, and social histories were recorded. The association between hypomagnesemia and osteoradionecrosis was analyzed controlling for known confounding factors. Results Hypomagnesemia during cancer treatment was associated with osteoradionecrosis development (HR = 2.72, P = .037) independent of total radiation dose (HR = 1.07, P = .260) and smoking history (HR = 2.05, P = .056) among the patients who received platinum-based induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiation. Conclusions Hypomagnesemia was predictive of the development of osteoradionecrosis in patients with cancers of the oropharynx and oral cavity receiving platinum-based induction followed by concurrent chemoradiation.
Human-wildlife conflict mitigation and the self-efficacy of wildlife professionals in non-formal education and outreach

Preventing human-wildlife conflict (HWC) constitutes a substantial challenge for wildlife agencies. The literature on HWC is primarily focused on public understanding of and perceptions toward HWC ...
Equality Rights in American Representation

Shortly after the adoption of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, progressive reformers recognized new threats to minority representation that went beyond minority disenfranchisement and included efforts to dilute minority representation. Progressive justices aligned with the Democratic Party helped to refashion election law to address these evolving shortcomings by reinterpreting the statute as well as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Conservative justices countered by proposing new, restrictive doctrinal positions. But when those positions deviated from the wishes of elected Republicans, they capitulated and instead developed a new right discouraging racial gerrymandering. The pattern of evolving doctrinal positions is best described by the deliberative partnership thesis.
Achieving natural behavior in a robot using neurally inspired hierarchical control

Terrestrial locomotion presents tremendous computational challenges on account of the enormous degrees of freedom in legged animals, and the complex and unpredictable properties of the natural environment and the effectors. Yet the nervous system can achieve locomotion with ease. Here we introduce a quadrupedal robot capable of goal-directed posture control and locomotion over rough terrain. The underlying control architecture is a hierarchical network of simple negative feedback control systems inspired by the organization of the vertebrate nervous system. Without using an internal model or feedforward planning, and without any training, our robot shows robust posture control and locomotor behavior in novel environments containing unpredictable disturbances.
Conflicting Managerial Incentives and Financial Reporting: The Case of Accelerated Share Repurchases

Prior studies suggest that managers of repurchasing firms use their financial reporting discretion to either reinforce the undervaluation signal (via positive discretionary accruals) or reduce the repurchasing price (via negative discretionary accruals). This study examines whether managers of firms undertaking accelerated share repurchases (ASRs), a recent and important innovation in repurchase methods, use their reporting discretion around the repurchase and if so, what is the motivation behind their reporting behavior. I find that ASR firms report positive discretionary accruals in the quarter of the announcement and that the upward earnings management increases with both the percentage of equity repurchased and CEO’s bonus compensation as a fraction of total compensation. However, there is a negative association between positive discretionary accruals and ASR announcement returns, suggesting that investors perceive positive discretionary accruals as the result of managerial opportunism (i.e., increasing EPS) rather than managerial optimism (i.e., signaling undervaluation). Accordingly, investors discount positive earnings surprises reported in the quarter of and the quarter following the ASR announcement.
CPR flow to prime the ischemic heart during cardiac arrest

Cardiac arrest is unique among cardiac ischemic syndromes in that all circulation must be generated external to the heart. Although, chest compressions deliver limited blood flow, it may be possible to take advantage of this cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) low-flow state to “prime” the heart in advance of return of restoration of spontaneous circulation. Prior investigation has demonstrated improved cardiac function after perfusing the globally ischemic heart with a cardioprotective agent under low-flow perfusion conditions (modeling CPR flow). These results raise the question as to whether CPR-generated flow can be utilized to induce pharmacological post-conditioning in the arrested heart.
TERMINAL OXIDATION IN CELL-FREE EXTRACTS OF FUNGI

Abstract Dowler, William M. (University of Illinois, Urbana), Paul D. Shaw, and David Gottlieb. Terminal oxidation in cell-free extracts of fungi. J. Bacteriol. 86:9–17. 1963.—The terminal respiration in cell-free extracts of ten representative fungi is mediated by an electron transport system similar to that observed in animal tissue. Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and succinic cytochrome c reductases and NADH oxidase activity are contained in the extracts. An antimycin-sensitive site and cytochrome oxidase are present. Dehydrogenases including glucose-6-phosphate, triose phosphate, isocitric, glutamic, succinic, and malic dehydrogenase were found, but pyruvic and α-ketoglutaric dehydrogenases were absent. The soluble nature of the dehydrogenases indicates probable disruption of the mitochondria, since normally these enzymes are found within the mitochondria. Particles containing most of the terminal respiratory activity could be sedimented by centrifugation at 40,000 × g for 30 min. Oxygen was utilized by cell-free extracts with NADH, succinate, and isocitrate as substrates, but not with glucose.
Introduction to ontologies in biomedicine: from powertools to assistants

Computer science is a complex discipline, but at its core can be summarized as the study of two interrelated concepts: algorithms and data structures. Data structures organize information to enable algorithms to work effectively. Because algorithms seem to “do the work”, data structures are often described as secondary accessories to effective algorithms. However, in many situations, an appropriate data structure allows the associated algorithms to be very simple or even trivial. Ontologies are data structures that represent knowledge, and so can be called “knowledge structures” (Schulze-Kremer, 2002). They have received attention recently as a critical component of the computational infrastructure of biomedicine. This section of the encyclopedia is devoted to reviewing the state of the art of ontology construction and use. In this introduction, I place this work in the larger picture of biomedical computation. Keywords: ontologies; knowledge representation; artificial intelligence; bioinformatics; infrastructure
CTLA-4-Mediated Inhibition of Early Events of T Cell Proliferation

CTLA-4 engagement by mAbs inhibits, while CD28 enhances, IL-2 production and proliferation upon T cell activation. Here, we have analyzed the mechanisms involved in CTLA-4-mediated inhibition of T cell activation of naive CD4+ T cells using Ab cross-linking. CTLA-4 ligation inhibited CD3/CD28-induced IL-2 mRNA accumulation by inhibiting IL-2 transcription, which appears to be mediated in part through decreasing NF-AT accumulation in the nuclei. However, CTLA-4 ligation did not appear to affect the CD28-mediated stabilization of IL-2 mRNA. Further, CTLA-4 engagement inhibited progression through the cell cycle by inhibiting the production of cyclin D3, cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk)4, and cdk6 when the T cells were stimulated with anti-CD3/CD28 and with anti-CD3 alone. These results indicate that CTLA-4 signaling inhibits events early in T cell activation both at IL-2 transcription and at the level of IL-2-independent events of the cell cycle, and does not simply oppose CD28-mediated costimulation.
South Park & the Law

This article argues that despite copyright infringement concerns, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin properly granted South Park’s motion to dismiss prior to discovery. Part I of this article discusses the television show South Park and its history of creating controversial parodies. Part II gives a background of Brownmark Films, LLC v. Comedy Partners. Part III outlines the Copyright Act and the prima facie elements of a copyright claim. Part IV discusses the fair use defense and its historical application to cases involving parodies. Finally, Part V explains why the decision of the lower court should be affirmed on the appeal of Brownmark Films, LLC v. Comedy Partners.
A Conjecture on the Hausdorff Dimension of Attractors of Real Self-Projective Iterated Function Systems

In a recent work, we proved that under natural conditions satisfied in several important examples, the rate of growth 1/sA of norms of matrices in a semigroup (respectively ) dictates the Hausdorff dimension of the attractor RA of the corresponding semigroups of projective transformations on (respectively ). In the present work, we begin a study of the higher-dimensional case. In particular, we introduce a certain family of semigroups , and we study numerically concrete cases for n = 3 and n = 4. Our results suggest that for n ≥ 3, (n − 1)sA/n is a lower bound for the Hausdorff dimension of RA.
Survivorship of Ploidy-variable Unisexual Ambystoma Salamanders Across Developmental Stages

Abstract: Populations of unisexual Ambystoma salamanders typically consist of ploidy-variable individuals (diploid through pentaploid) that differ in their proportional representation within the populations. These salamanders reproduce using a method that has been termed kleptogenesis: stealing genetic material from males of compatible bisexual Ambystoma species (e.g., Jefferson Salamanders [A. jeffersonianum] and Blue-spotted Salamanders [A. laterale]). Kleptogenesis can result in ploidy-variable embryos within an egg mass because the unisexual female might or might not incorporate the male genome. Little is known about the survivorship of individuals having different ploidy levels. Triploid individuals are most abundant, indicating that higher ploidy individuals (tetraploids and pentaploids) are either produced more rarely, or suffer higher mortality than triploids. We assessed the frequency of ploidy levels (determined by microsatellite analysis) across four life-history stages over 2 yr: adults, earl...
Determining Chemotherapy Tolerance in Older Patients With Cancer

Older adults with cancer constitute a heterogeneous group of patients who pose unique challenges for oncology care. One major concern is how to identify patients who are at a higher risk for chemotherapy intolerance, because a standard oncology workup may not always be able to distinguish an older individual's level of risk for treatment-related complications. Geriatric oncologists incorporate tools used in the field of geriatrics, and have developed the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment to enhance the standard oncology workup. This assessment pinpoints problems with daily activities, comorbidities, medications, nutritional status, cognitive function, psychological state, and social support systems, all of which are risk factors for treatment vulnerability in older adults with cancer. Additional tools that also serve to predict chemotherapy toxicity in older patients with cancer are now available to identify patients at higher risk for morbidity and mortality. Together, these instruments complement the standard oncology workup by providing a global assessment, thereby guiding therapeutic interventions that may improve a patient's quality of life and clinical outcomes.
Lipoprotein substrates of lipoprotein lipase and hepatic triacylglycerol lipase from human post-heparin plasma.

Abstract Lipoprotein lipase and hepatic triacylglycerol lipase were partially purified from human post-heparin plasma by heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The activities of both enzymes as well as rat adipose lipoprotein lipase were tested with normal and triacylglycerol-rich lipoproteins from all major density classes. Lipoprotein lipase hydrolyzed the chylomicrons of patients with type 1 hyperlipoproteinemia far more efficiently than did hepatic triacylglycerol lipase, with a ten-fold lower K m and four-fold higher V . Triacylglycerol in very low density lipoproteins was hydrolyzed slower than that in chylomicrons by lipoprotein lipase, whereas hepatic triacylglycerol lipase had much greater activity against very low density lipoproteins than against chylomicrons. Triacylglycerol-rich low density lipoproteins and high density lipoproteins from the plasma of patients with Tangier disease and types 1 and 5 hyperlipoproteinemia were also tested as substrates for these enzymes. Low density lipoproteins, with triacylglycerol contents up to 40% dry weight, were hydrolyzed by both enzymes. Very low density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein-1 (1.006 Neither rat adipose lipoprotein lipase nor human post-heparin plasma lipoprotein lipase released fatty acids from high density lipoproteins, even when triacylglycerol accounted for greater than 25% of high density lipoprotein mass. High density lipoprotein triacylglycerol was hydrolyzed to a limited extent by hepatic triacylglycerol lipase, and the fatty acid release was shown not to be due to phospholipase activity.
Making sense, ritual, and improvisation at the end of life

In this essay, the author offers new possibilities for end of life care through sense making with patients that employs both ritual and improvisation in lieu of traditional medical ethical decision-making.