cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Second Order Consensus with Absolute Information

We investigate the performance of second order consensus systems with stochastic external perturbations, where a subset of enhanced nodes incorporates absolute information into their control laws. The performance of the system is measured by its coherence, an $\mathcal{H}_{2}$ norm that quantifies the total steady-state variance of the deviation from the desired trajectory. We pose the problem of how to identify a set of nodes to enhance that optimizes the coherence. To address this problem, we define a set function that quantifies the system's coherence and prove that this function is submodular. This allows the use of a greedy algorithm to select a set of enhanced nodes that is guaranteed to yield coherence within a constant bound of the coherence of the optimal enhanced node set. We demonstrate empirically that the greedy algorithm not only performs within that constant bound, but within a very slim margin of the optimal coherence of the system. We also present a numerical evaluation comparing the coherence of first and second order consensus systems with enhanced nodes. Finally, we demonstrate via a pair of examples that the optimal enhanced node sets for first and second order systems are not guaranteed to be the same.
Diagnosing osteoarthritis from T2 maps using deep learning: an analysis of the entire Osteoarthritis Initiative baseline cohort.

Summary Objective We aim to study to what extent conventional and deep-learning-based T2 relaxometry patterns are able to distinguish between knees with and without radiographic osteoarthritis (OA). Methods T2 relaxation time maps were analyzed for 4,384 subjects from the baseline Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) Dataset. Voxel Based Relaxometry (VBR) was used for automatic quantification and voxel-based analysis of the differences in T2 between subjects with and without radiographic OA. A Densely Connected Convolutional Neural Network (DenseNet) was trained to diagnose OA from T2 data. For comparison, more classical feature extraction techniques and shallow classifiers were used to benchmark the performance of our algorithm's results. Deep and shallow models were evaluated with and without the inclusion of risk factors. Sensitivity and Specificity values and McNemar test were used to compare the performance of the different classifiers. Results The best shallow model was obtained when the first ten Principal Components, demographics and pain score were included as features (AUC = 77.77%, Sensitivity = 67.01%, Specificity = 71.79%). In comparison, DenseNet trained on raw T2 data obtained AUC = 83.44%, Sensitivity = 76.99%, Specificity = 77.94%. McNemar test on two misclassified proportions form the shallow and deep model showed that the boost in performance was statistically significant (McNemar's chi-squared = 10.33, degree of freedom (DF) = 1, P-value = 0.0013). Conclusion In this study, we presented a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)-based data-driven platform using T2 measurements to characterize radiographic OA. Our results showed that feature learning from T2 maps has potential in uncovering information that can potentially better diagnose OA than simple averages or linear patterns decomposition.
Effect of siRNA-mediated EGF receptor knockdown on cell growth and inhibitor response in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells.

165 Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently overexpressed in a variety of human carcinomas, including non-small lung cancer. Since EGF receptor overexpression appears to be linked with poor prognosis, we were interested in comparing the effect of siRNA-mediated EGF receptor knockdown on biological response in the A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line. Constructs encoding shRNA directed against human EGFR were designed and tested by transient transfection in 293A cells. In the case of EGFRhp 1191, this siRNA was shown to reduce cell surface EGFR expression levels by 40-60% following stable transfection into A549 cells. The consequence of inhibition of EGFR expression on cell growth in these cells was investigated. Effects of serum and/or exogenous EGF on growth were assessed by MTT assay in both A549 control and EGFRhp1191 cells. Whereas control A549 cells are more sensitive to exogenous EGF, the EGFRhp1191 cells are more sensitive to serum stimulation of growth. This could imply that the hp cells switched to another signaling pathway that is stimulated by a growth factor found in serum. Further analysis of the effects of various signal transduction inhibitors on growth revealed that A549 cells are inhibited by treatment with Ly294002, suggesting that PI3 kinase may be a critical mediator of cell growth/viability in A549. Various growth parameters such as cell cycle progression, proliferation and survival are under investigation. As an extension of this analysis, we were also interested in testing the effect of EGFR inhibitors as a single therapy and in combination with chemotherapeutics. We tested two types of EGFR inhibitors, 225 mAb, a neutralizing antibody that prevents ligand binding and AG1478, a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor. The IC50 for inhibition of EGF induced receptor autophosphorylation in A549 were determined to be 80 ng/ml for 225mAb and 36nM for AG1478. Unlike 225 mAb, which failed to show significant effects on growth of the cells, AG1478, exhibited dose-dependent reduction of cell growth in A549 cells (IC50 =16uM). In addition, AG1478 appeared to have an additive effect with either cisplatin or paclitaxel; two commonly used chemotherapeutic agents. Apoptosis assays suggest that AG1478 acts to sensitize these cells to the apoptotic actions of these drugs. This course of analysis is currently being performed in the siRNA-mediated EGF receptor knockdown A549 cell line.
Restriction of Cellular Plasticity of Differentiated Cells Mediated by Chromatin Modifiers, Transcription Factors and Protein Kinases

Ectopic expression of master regulatory transcription factors can reprogram the identity of specific cell types. The effectiveness of such induced cellular reprogramming is generally greatly reduced if the cellular substrates are fully differentiated cells. For example, in the nematode C. elegans, the ectopic expression of a neuronal identity-inducing transcription factor, CHE-1, can effectively induce CHE-1 target genes in immature cells but not in fully mature non-neuronal cells. To understand the molecular basis of this progressive restriction of cellular plasticity, we screened for C. elegans mutants in which ectopically expressed CHE-1 is able to induce neuronal effector genes in epidermal cells. We identified a ubiquitin hydrolase, usp-48, that restricts cellular plasticity with a notable cellular specificity. Even though we find usp-48 to be very broadly expressed in all tissue types, usp-48 null mutants specifically make epidermal cells susceptible to CHE-1-mediated activation of neuronal target genes. We screened for additional genes that allow epidermal cells to be at least partially reprogrammed by ectopic che-1 expression and identified many additional proteins that restrict cellular plasticity of epidermal cells, including a chromatin-related factor (H3K79 methyltransferase, DOT-1.1), a transcription factor (nuclear hormone receptor NHR-48), two MAPK-type protein kinases (SEK-1 and PMK-1), a nuclear localized O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT-1) and a member of large family of nuclear proteins related to the Rb-associated LIN-8 chromatin factor. These findings provide novel insights into the control of cellular plasticity.
Opposing functions for retromer and Rab11 in extracellular vesicle cargo traffic at synapses

Abstract Neuronal extracellular vesicles (EVs) play critical roles in intercellular communication and in propagation of pathogenic proteins in neurological disease. However, little is known about how cargoes are selectively packaged into neuronal EVs. Here, we examined the intracellular traffic and release of the EV cargoes Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) and Synaptotagmin-4 (Syt4) at presynaptic nerve terminals of Drosophila motor neurons. We found that loss of the endosomal retromer complex leads to increased EV cargo levels both presynaptically and in EVs, and that this function is separable from previously identified roles of neuronal retromer. Conversely, EV cargo levels are reduced in rab11 mutants, and EV cargo sorting depends on a balance between Rab11-mediated recycling and retromer-dependent removal from the EV pathway. Rab11 and retromer have previously been implicated in Alzheimer’s Disease, suggesting that these competing pathways may serve as therapeutic targets for limiting accumulation and release of toxic EV cargoes.
ICD Codes for Stress Cardiomyopathy in Administrative Databases Have High Positive Predictive Values

Introduction Stress Cardiomyopathy (SCM) gained an International Classification of Disease code at the 9th- Clinical Modulation (ICD- 9 CM) in 2006. Since then, more than a dozen studies have used these ICD codes for SCM, but no prior study has assessed the reliability of these codes, suggesting that prior reports could have under or overestimated the incidence of this emerging heart failure syndrome. Objective To determine the positive predictive value (PPV) of the ICD 9/10 code to detect a clinical diagnosis of SCM. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of all stress cardiomyopathy cases seen at a large tertiary medical center from 2010-2016. We used ICD-9/10 to identify all adult patients hospitalized with incident SCM. We then used chart review to confirm documentation of SCM, which was confirmed by a cardiologist. We recorded the use of echocardiograms and cardiac angiograms; finally, we determined if patients had a true “incident” clinical manifestation of SCM based on chart review. This determination included documentation of clinical judgement by the clinician, electrocardiogram, biochemical markers, echocardiogram, and cardiac angiographic findings of SCM. We trended the incidence over time using Cochrane Armitage trend test and calculated PPV for the diagnosis of SCM. Results We identified a total of 592 patients hospitalized with SCM ICD-9/10 codes; 242 (41%) consisting of primary SCM codes. Upon chart review, twelve patients (2.2%) had an ICD diagnosis of SCM without any clinical documentation in the chart, which resulted in an overall PPV of 98.0%; 100% PPV for primary, whereas 96.6% for secondary SCM as all the above mentioned 12 patients were coded as secondary SCM. Among primary ICD codes for SCM, 98% had active disease, while 87% of secondary codes had active manifestations of SCM. Primary SCM had higher rates of cardiac catheterization (88% versus 53%; p Conclusions We found that ICD codes for SCM have a high PPV of 98%, which was higher when sample was limited to principle diagnosis of SCM thus, proving good reliability of these ICD codes in identifying SCM. Although our study was not set up to determine sensitivity or specificity of these codes, the high PPV increases our confidence in prior studies of SCM and suggests that future studies using these codes in administrative databases will likely produce valid results.
Acellular nerve allografts in corneal neurotisation: an inappropriate choice.

Neurotrophic keratopathy (NK) is a devastating degenerative disease of the ocular surface, resulting in progressive corneal epithelial defects, ulceration, melting and in severe cases perforation.1 The disease results from dysfunction of trigeminal nerve afferents to the cornea; aetiologies include herpetic infection, ocular surgery, skull base tumours and surgery, brainstem cerebrovascular accidents, and congenital trigeminal nerve hypoplasia. The pathophysiology of NK encompasses loss of trophic support to the cornea, causing morphological and metabolic disturbances, and loss of sensory feedback, resulting in impaired blink and tearing reflexes.2 Though bandage contact lenses and topical medical therapies may halt disease progression and stimulate corneal healing,3 they do not address its underlying cause. Terzis et al described reinnervation of the insensate cornea by direct surgical transfer of contralateral supraorbital and supratrochlear nerve branches to the perilimbal region as a means to reverse NK progression.4 Elbaz et al described a modification of this technique employing an interposition nerve autograft between the cornea and supratrochlear nerve to reduce procedural morbidity.5 6 The largest single-centre experience on the use of nerve autografts in corneal neurotisation for NK …
Evaluating the Feasibility of a Nurse-Driven Telephone Triage Intervention for Patients With Cancer in the Ambulatory Setting.

OBJECTIVES To explore the feasibility of a nurse-driven telephone triage intervention to improve the symptom experience of patients with cancer receiving treatment in the ambulatory setting. SAMPLE A SETTING 90 patients in three ambulatory centers (breast, head and neck, and sarcoma) receiving active treatment at a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. METHODS A VARIABLES Patients received 4-18 triage calls from a nurse during a period of as many as six months dependent on their diagnosis and treatment. Feasibility was defined as the completion of 70% of triage calls. Symptom experience was measured using the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory. RESULTS The overall call completion rate was 78%. Interference (p = 0.002) and severity (p < 0.001) scores were significantly different among patients in the three centers and gradually decreased over time. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING Outcomes suggest that a telephone triage intervention is feasible to support patients receiving treatment. Future research can evaluate whether proactive triage affects symptom intensity during the course of the treatment trajectory.
A Social Force Based Pedestrian Motion Model Considering Multi-Pedestrian Interaction with a Vehicle

Pedestrian motion modeling in mixed traffic scenarios is crucial to the development of autonomous systems in transportation related applications. This work investigated how pedestrian motion is affected by surrounding pedestrians and vehicles, i.e., vehicle-pedestrian interaction. A social force based pedestrian motion model was proposed, in which the effect of surrounding pedestrians was improved and the effect of vehicles was newly designed. Variable constraints dependent on vehicle influence as well as nearby pedestrian density were imposed on the velocity and acceleration of the pedestrian motion. This work focuses on fundamental patterns of multi-pedestrian interaction with a low speed vehicle (front, back, and lateral interaction in open space). In other words, the application of the model is not restricted to specific scenarios such as crosswalks. Parameters of the proposed model were calibrated by the genetic algorithm (GA) based on trajectory data of the same vehicle-pedestrian interaction patterns from controlled experiments. The proposed model is able to simulate complex self-designed vehicle-pedestrian interaction scenarios. The effectiveness of the proposed model was validated by comparing the simulated trajectories with ground truth trajectories under the same initial conditions, and by evaluating the pedestrian behavior of avoiding vehicle in the simulation of self-designed scenarios.
Chapter 18 – Magnetic Properties

Publisher Summary The magnetic properties of fullerenes are interesting and surprising. Materials with closed-shell configurations are diamagnetic. There are several methods for introducing paramagnetic behavior into fullerenes, including methods for producing magnetically ordered phases. For example, the introduction of a magnetic dopant ion with an unfilled d or f shell (either endohedrally of exohedrally) is expected to lead to Curie paramagnetism. The large number of aromatic rings in fullerenes suggests that they might be highly diamagnetic, setting up shielding screening currents upon application of a magnetic field. More detailed analysis shows that the hexagonal rings contribute a diamagnetic term to the total susceptibility χ, while the pentagonal rings contribute a paramagnetic term of almost equal magnitude, thereby leading to an unusually small diamagnetic susceptibility for C60 in comparison with other ring compounds and with graphite itself, which has only hexagonal rings. This approach to the analysis of the magnetic susceptibility is in good agreement with χ measurements on both C60 and C70.
Fostering Global Competence through Short-Term Study Abroad

The article summarizes the effects of an eight week short term study abroad program four weeks in the U nited S tates and four weeks in Germany on students’ global competence. Students’ global competence was measured with the Global Competence Aptitude Assessment (GCAA) before and after the eight week summer program. Data was collected from three summer programs and a total of 42 students participa ted in the study. The results indicate that students made statistically significant improvements in several dimensions of global competence but also statistically declined in one area. Suggestions for possible curricular and programmatic changes were made that may be put into place to provide more opportunities for the development of global competence in future iterations of this summer study abroad program.
Rendering settler sovereign landscapes: Race and property in the Empire State:

This article examines the politics of race, indigeneity, and landscape in US American enactments of property. Its substance is the homelands of the Haudenosaunee, now territorialized as upstate New...
Retrospective analysis of combination carboplatin and vinblastine for pediatric low-grade glioma.

Low-grade glioma (LGG) represent the most common pediatric central nervous system tumor. When total surgical resection is not feasible, chemotherapy is first-line therapy in children. Multiple pediatric LGG chemotherapy regimens have been investigated with variable 2-year event free survival (EFS) rates of 39–69%. To date, treatment of pediatric LGG with a carboplatin and vinblastine (C/VBL) chemotherapy regimen has only been evaluated in a phase 1 dose-finding study. A retrospective review of pediatric patients with LGG who were treated with C/VBL at Children’s Hospital of Colorado or Akron Children’s Hospital from 2011 to 2017 was conducted. Data collected included patient demographics, tumor location, disease response, neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) status, therapy duration and toxicities. Response to therapy was determined by objective findings on imaging and treating physicians' evaluation. Forty-six patients were identified for analysis, all of whom were chemotherapy-naive. Only five patients treated in this cohort had NF1. BRAF fusion was identified in 65% (22/34) of tested tumors. Best therapy response was partial response in nine patients and stable disease in twenty-five patients. Twelve patients had progressive disease. One-year, 3-year, and 5-year EFS probabilities for all patients were 69.6%, 39.4%, and 34.5%, respectively. Nine patients had admissions for febrile neutropenia and seven patients experienced one delay in chemotherapy due to neutropenia. Only two patients had to discontinue this chemotherapy regimen because of treatment-related toxicities [carboplatin allergy (n = 1) and vinblastine neuropathy (n = 1)]. C/VBL achieves similar EFS rates to other single-agent and combination cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens for pediatric LGG with manageable toxicities.
Dietary and Lifestyle Oxidative Balance Scores and Incident Colorectal Cancer Risk among Older Women; the Iowa Women’s Health Study

BACKGROUND Basic science literature strongly supports a role of oxidative stress in colorectal cancer (CRC) etiology, but in epidemiologic studies, associations of most individual exposures with CRC have been weak or inconsistent. However, recent epidemiologic evidence suggests that the collective effects of these exposures on oxidative balance and CRC risk may be substantial. METHODS Using food frequency and lifestyle questionnaire data from the prospective Iowa Women's Health Study (1986-2012), we investigated associations of 11-component dietary and 4-component lifestyle oxidative balance scores (OBS) with incident CRC using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS Of the 33,736 cancer-free women aged 55-69 years at baseline, 1,632 developed CRC during follow-up. Among participants in the highest relative to the lowest dietary and lifestyle OBS quintiles (higher anti-oxidant relative to pro-oxidant exposures), the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were, respectively, 0.77 (0.63, 0.94) (Ptrend=0.02) and 0.61 (0.52, 0.71) (Ptrend<0.0001). Among those in the highest relative to the lowest joint lifestyle/dietary OBS quintile, the HR was 0.45 (95% CI 0.26, 0.77). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that a predominance of antioxidant over pro-oxidant dietary and lifestyle exposures-separately and especially jointly-may be inversely associated with CRC risk among older women.
Variability in the Use of Novel Diagnostic Technology in Children With Suspected Encephalitis and in the Management of Emerging Encephalitides by Pediatric Infectious Disease Providers

We surveyed pediatric infectious disease physicians through the Infectious Disease Society of America's Emerging Infections Network regarding the diagnosis and management of encephalitis. We identified practice variations, particularly with the use of new diagnostic modalities and management of autoimmune encephalitides. These findings may inform the creation of updated management guidelines.
How Asian Women’s Intersecting Identities Impact Experiences in Introductory Computing Courses

Asians are perceived as overrepresented in computing fields. However, understanding how intersecting identities complicates this view is essential. When considering gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic class, it becomes clear Asians have varying experiences and representation within computing. Using critical race theory and feminist theory, our exploratory case study describes Asian women’s perceptions of inclusionary and exclusionary factors in their introductory computing courses as well as their undergraduate teaching assistants (TAs). We found that intersecting identities and context of the university change the salience of race for Asian women. Additionally, undergraduate TAs are seen as more relatable because of near-peer status, and their personalities more impactful than any identity characteristic.
Does it pay to bribe? The influence of bribery on new venture disbanding in China:

This research extends bribery research toward entrepreneurial theory and practice by examining how bribery impacts new venture disbanding in China. Existing research suggests that bribery may enhan...
Hierarchicell: an R-package for estimating power for tests of differential expression with single-cell data.

Study design is a critical aspect of any experiment, and sample size calculations for statistical power that are consistent with that study design are central to robust and reproducible results. However, the existing power calculators for tests of differential expression in single-cell RNA-seq data focus on the total number of cells and not the number of independent experimental units, the true unit of interest for power. Thus, current methods grossly overestimate the power. Hierarchicell is the first single-cell power calculator to explicitly simulate and account for the hierarchical correlation structure (i.e., within sample correlation) that exists in single-cell RNA-seq data. Hierarchicell, an R-package available on GitHub, estimates the within sample correlation structure from real data to simulate hierarchical single-cell RNA-seq data and estimate power for tests of differential expression. This multi-stage approach models gene dropout rates, intra-individual dispersion, inter-individual variation, variable or fixed number of cells per individual, and the correlation among cells within an individual. Without modeling the within sample correlation structure and without properly accounting for the correlation in downstream analysis, we demonstrate that estimates of power are falsely inflated. Hierarchicell can be used to estimate power for binary and continuous phenotypes based on user-specified number of independent experimental units (e.g., individuals) and cells within the experimental unit. Hierarchicell is a user-friendly R-package that provides accurate estimates of power for testing hypotheses of differential expression in single-cell RNA-seq data. This R-package represents an important addition to single-cell RNA analytic tools and will help researchers design experiments with appropriate and accurate power, increasing discovery and improving robustness and reproducibility.
Timing of stress fracture in soldiers during the first 6 career months: a retrospective cohort study.

Context Stress fractures (SF) are injuries that can result from beginning new or higher volume physical training regimens. The pattern of clinical presentation of SF over time after individuals start a new or more demanding physical training regimen is not well defined in medical literature. Objective Report trends in the clinical presentation of stress fractures over the first six month of soldiers' time in the service. Design Retrospective Cohort study Setting: This study was conducted using medical encounter and personnel data from U.S. Army soldiers during the first 6 months of their career. Participants U.S. Army soldiers beginning their careers from 2005-2014 (N=701,027). Data collection and analysis Weekly SF numbers and incidence were calculated overall, as well as by sex, over the first 6 months of military service. Results SF diagnoses (N=14,155) increased steeply in weeks 3 and 4, with a peak in the overall incidence of SF diagnoses occurring during weeks 5-8. Although clinical incidence of stress fracture generally decreased beyond 8 weeks, incident lower extremity stress fractures continued to present for over 20 weeks. The hazard ratio (HR) for SF among women compared to men was 4.14 (95% CI = [4.01, 4.27]). Conclusions Across the 6-month study period, women showed over 4 times greater hazard for stress fracture. The results also suggest that health care providers should be particularly vigilant for stress fractures within 3 weeks after the beginning of a new or higher intensity exercise regimen. The incidence of SF may continue to climb for several weeks. Even as stress fracture incidence declines, it should be noted that these injuries may also continue to appear clinically even several months after a change in activity or training.
Inference of high-resolution trajectories in single cell RNA-Seq data from RNA velocity

ABSTRACT Trajectory inference methods are used to infer cell developmental trajectories in a continuous biological process, for example, stem cell differentiation. Most of the current trajectory inference methods infer the developmental trajectories based on transcriptome similarity between cells, using single cell RNA-Sequencing (scRNA-Seq) data. These methods are often restricted to certain trajectory structures like linear structure or tree structure, and the directions of the trajectory can only be determined when the root cell is provided. On the other hand, RNA velocity inference method is shown to be a promising alternative in predicting short term cell developmental direction from the sequencing data. Here by we present CellPath, a single cell trajectory inference method that infers developmental trajectories by integrating RNA velocity information. CellPath is able to find multiple high-resolution cell developmental paths instead of a single backbone trajectory obtained from traditional trajectory inference methods, and it no longer constrains the trajectory structure to be of any specific topology. The direction information provided by RNA-velocity also allows CellPath to automatically detect the root cell and the direction of the dynamic process. We evaluate CellPath on both real and synthetic datasets, and show that CellPath finds more accurate and detailed trajectories compared to the state-of-the-art trajectory inference methods.
Imaging Blood-Brain Barrier Permeability Through MRI in Pediatric Sickle Cell Disease: A Feasibility Study.

BACKGROUND Blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption may lead to endothelium dysfunction and inflammation in sickle cell disease (SCD). However, abnormalities of BBB in SCD, especially in pediatric patients for whom contrast agent administration less than optimal, have not been fully characterized. PURPOSE To examine BBB permeability to water in a group of pediatric SCD participants using a non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging technique. We hypothesized that SCD participants will have increased BBB permeability. STUDY TYPE Prospective cross-sectional. POPULATION Twenty-six pediatric participants (10 ± 1 years, 15F/11M) were enrolled, including 21 SCD participants and 5 sickle cell trait (SCT) participants, who were siblings of SCD patients. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE 3 T. Water extraction with phase-contrast arterial spin tagging with echo-planer imaging, phase-contrast and T1 -weighted magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition of gradient echo. ASSESSMENT Water extraction fraction (E), BBB permeability-surface area product (PS), cerebral blood flow, hematological measures (hemoglobin, hematocrit, hemoglobin S), neuropsychological scores (including domains of intellectual ability, attention and executive function, academic achievement and adaptive function, and a composite score). Regions of interest were drawn by Z.L. (6 years of experience). STATISTICAL TESTS Wilcoxon rank sum test and chi-square test for group comparison of demographics. Multiple linear regression analysis of PS with diagnostic category (SCD or SCT), hematological measures, and neuropsychological scores. A two-tailed P value of 0.05 or less was considered statistically significant. RESULTS Compared with SCT participants, SCD participants had a significantly higher BBB permeability to water (SCD: 207.0 ± 33.3 mL/100 g/minute, SCT: 171.2 ± 27.2 mL/100 g/minute). SCD participants with typically more severe phenotypes also had a significantly leakier BBB than those with typically milder phenotypes (severe: 217.3 ± 31.7 mL/100 g/minute, mild: 193.3 ± 31.8 mL/100 g/minute). Furthermore, more severe BBB disruption was associated with worse hematological symptoms, including lower hemoglobin concentrations (β = -8.84, 95% confidence interval [CI] [-14.69, -3.00]), lower hematocrits (β = -2.96, 95% CI [-4.84, -1.08]), and higher hemoglobin S fraction (β = 0.77, 95% CI [0.014, 1.53]). DATA CONCLUSION These findings support a potential role for BBB dysfunction in SCD pathogenesis of ischemic injury. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.
Sparse Activity Detection in Intelligent Reflecting Surface Assisted Wireless Networks

The sparse activity detection in intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) assisted wireless networks is investigated in this paper. With generalized approximate message passing (GAMP) algorithm, we first obtain the minimum mean square error (MMSE) estimates of the equivalent effective channel coefficients from the base station (BS) to the users, and convert the received pilot signals into additive Gaussian noise corrupted versions of the equivalent effective channel coefficients. Subsequently, multiple decisions on the activity of each user are made using the likelihood ratio test based on the Gaussian noise corrupted equivalent effective channel coefficients. At last, final decisions on the activity of all users are made with the optimal fusion rule, taking into account the previous decisions on the activity of each user and the corresponding reliabilities. Numerical results show that the average error probability of the sparse activity detection method proposed in this paper diminishes as the SNR, number of pilots, number of antennas at the BS or number of elements at the IRS increases.
Lower genitourinary tract trauma

Lower genitourinary tract trauma comprises a substantial portion of the trauma burden in the USA. Some key trends and findings are described. Mortality is relatively high in patients with bladder t...
Hypertension and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: Is Drug Therapy Beneficial?

Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a consequence of long-standing hypertension and is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Several antihypertensive agents are capable of inducing regression of LVH, but it is not known which class of drugs is most effective. The impact of drug-induced reversal of hypertrophy on ventricular function remains a controversial issue. Furthermore, the long-term clinical benefits of LVH regression have yet to be documented. Controversies also exist regarding the clinical outcomes associated with drug-induced LVH regression.
Woman's Place in Man's Life Cycle

Drawing on literary and psychological sources, Carol Gilligan documents the way in which theories of the life cycle, by taking for their model the lives of men, have failed to account for the experience of women. Arguing that this bias has promoted a concern with autonomy and achievement at the expense of attachment and intimacy, she suggests that systematic attention to women's lives, in both theory and research, will allow an integration of these concerns into a more balanced conception of human development.
Effects of food on valproic acid absorption

The effect of food on valproic acid absorption was investigated in a randomized, cross-over study with eight subjects. Two 250-mg soft-gelatin capsules of valproic acid were administered to the participants under fasting and nonfasting conditions. The time of peak serum concentration, height of the peak concentration, and total area under the curve were determined and compared by the Student's t test for paired data. The time to attain a peak serum concentration was significantly delayed (p less than 0.005) from the 1.6 hours during fasting conditions to four hours after a standard meal. A statistically insignificant trend toward lower peak serum concentrations (54.6 micrograms/ml versus 49.4 micrograms/ml) was found under the nonfasting conditions. This trend becomes significant if the data of one subject who exercised before taking the drug are eliminated. The area under the curve was not different between the two conditions. The administration of the drug with food did not significantly alter the volume of distribution, half-life, or elimination constant. No clinically important interaction resulted from the administration of valproic acid with food. If a patient experiences gastrointestinal side effects with valproic acid, the patient may be advised to take the drug with food.
Using Social Analytics for Studying Work-Networks: A Novel, Initial Approach

This paper contributes to the emerging field of social-analytics in computer-supported cooperative work by introducing a novel methodology for investigating the "work-networks" that emerge from everyday interactions among workers, artifacts, and organizational structures. Particularly, it presents and discusses an early implementation of this methodology in the context of a large, global IT service delivery organization. It analyzes the pattern of work interactions that emerge from the mining of common use of internal social media systems, log data of service delivery management systems, and organizational structures. Such analyses enabled us to unearth potential deficiencies in the ways in which the organization make use of collaborative systems, share and spread knowledge among its workers.
Green thoughts in a green shade.

The author gives an autobiographical sketch of his path to chlorophyll research, and describes some results. The discussion is largely focused on long wavelength forms of chlorophyll and how they might be generated by self-assembly. Dimers or oligomers, (Chl)n, result from coordination interactions between the central magnesium atom of one macrocycle and nucleophilic side chains of another i.e., keto C=O⋯Mg in the case of Chl a. Coordination interactions mediated by a water molecule coordinated to Mg in one macrocycle and to a nucleophilic group in another e.g., Mg⋯O(H)H⋯O=C keto, form aggregates with very different structures and properties; where more than one strong nucleophile or hydrogen bonding group is present in the chlorophyll, e.g., the formyl group in Chl b, the acetyl group of Bchl a, or the hydroxyethyl group of Bchl c, they may also participate in direct coordination interactions with Mg as well as hydrogen bonding to water coordinated to Mg. The magnetic resonance properties of Chl a/water aggregates have provided the basis for the special pair concept for the primary electron donor in photosynthesis. Structural information derived from small angle neutron scattering studies on chlorophyll aggregates is now providing an experimental basis for comprehensive models that integrate antenna and photoreaction center chlorophyll functions.
Susceptibility of ten fish species to electroshock-induced mortality

Abstract Ten species of fish were exposed to homogeneous electric fields of 60-Hz pulsed DC in water having an ambient conductivity of 100 μS/cm. A range of voltage gradients was used for the electroshock, and the percentage of fish dead after 1 h was determined. A logistic model was used to compare species, and the voltage gradient that was lethal within 1 h to 50% of the fish (LV50) was computed. Except for blackbanded darters Percina nigrofasciata (juveniles and adults) and western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis (adults), all fish were newly transformed juveniles, which for some species are more sensitive to the lethal effects of electroshock than are younger or older fish. The most susceptible species was the blackbanded darter (LV50 = 1.7 V/ cm), followed by largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (LV50 = 3.0 V/cm), striped bass Morone saxatilis (LV50 = 4.0 V/cm), and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus (LV50 = 4.1 V/cm). Species of intermediate susceptibility were the rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss ...
Minimally Invasive Treatment of Spinal Tumors

Minimally invasive access techniques are increasingly applied to patients with spine tumors, eliminating the morbidity of more invasive open procedures in appropriate patients. Minimally invasive treatments include various percutaneous image-guided approaches with radiofrequency ablation, drilling, or intralesional injections of cement, embolic agents, or medications that promote sclerosis or ossification. Intraoperative ablation methods include direct lesional injection of cement and devascularizing options with injection of embolic agents and cryocoagulation.
A comparison of central venous and arterial base deficit as a predictor of survival in acute trauma.

Abstract Background The arterial base deficit has been demonstrated to be a marker of shock and predictive of survival in injured patients. The venous blood, however, may better reflect tissue perfusion. Its usefulness in trauma is unknown. We compared central venous with arterial blood gas analysis to determine which was a better predictor of survival in injured patients. Methods A prospective, nonrandomized series of acutely injured patients was investigated. Patients who had an arterial blood gas analysis for acid-base determination had a simultaneous central venous blood gas analysis and routine blood tests. Patient demographics, Injury Severity Score, and survival past 24 hours were recorded. Arterial and venous blood samples were analyzed for pH, P co 2 , P o 2 , HCO 3 , hemoglobin-oxygen saturation, base deficit, and lactate. Results One hundred patients were enrolled. There were 76 survivors and 24 nonsurvivors. Wilcoxon rank sum test and multivariate logistic regression were used for each recorded variable; only central venous base deficit was predictive of survival past 24 hours ( P = .0081). Specifically, arterial base deficit was not predictive of survival past 24 hours. Conclusion In a prospective series of acutely injured patients, central venous base deficit, not arterial base deficit, was predictive of survival past 24 hours.
The role of variance in term weighting for probabilistic information retrieval

In probabilistic approaches to information retrieval, the occurrence of a query term in a document contributes to the probability that the document will be judged relevant. It is typically assumed that the weight assigned to a query term should be based on the expected value of that contribution. In this paper we show that the degree to which observable document features such as term frequencies are expected to vary is also important. By means of stochastic simulation, we show that increased variance results in degraded retrieval performance. We further show that by decreasing term weights in the presence of variance, this degradation can be reduced. Hence, probabilistic models of information retrieval must take into account not only the expected value of a query term's contribution but also the variance of document features.
HIV-1 Resistance to CCR5 Antagonists Associated with Highly Efficient Use of CCR5 and Altered Tropism on Primary CD4+ T Cells

We previously reported on a panel of HIV-1 clade B envelope (Env) proteins isolated from a patient treated with the CCR5 antagonist aplaviroc (APL) that were drug resistant. These Envs used the APL-bound conformation of CCR5, were cross resistant to other small-molecule CCR5 antagonists, and were isolated from the patient's pretreatment viral quasispecies as well as after therapy. We analyzed viral and host determinants of resistance and their effects on viral tropism on primary CD4(+) T cells. The V3 loop contained residues essential for viral resistance to APL, while additional mutations in gp120 and gp41 modulated the magnitude of drug resistance. However, these mutations were context dependent, being unable to confer resistance when introduced into a heterologous virus. The resistant virus displayed altered binding between gp120 and CCR5 such that the virus became critically dependent on the N' terminus of CCR5 in the presence of APL. In addition, the drug-resistant Envs studied here utilized CCR5 very efficiently: robust virus infection occurred even when very low levels of CCR5 were expressed. However, recognition of drug-bound CCR5 was less efficient, resulting in a tropism shift toward effector memory cells upon infection of primary CD4(+) T cells in the presence of APL, with relative sparing of the central memory CD4(+) T cell subset. If such a tropism shift proves to be a common feature of CCR5-antagonist-resistant viruses, then continued use of CCR5 antagonists even in the face of virologic failure could provide a relative degree of protection to the T(CM) subset of CD4(+) T cells and result in improved T cell homeostasis and immune function.
Approximate computation of multidimensional aggregates of sparse data using wavelets

Computing multidimensional aggregates in high dimensions is a performance bottleneck for many OLAP applications. Obtaining the exact answer to an aggregation query can be prohibitively expensive in terms of time and/or storage space in a data warehouse environment. It is advantageous to have fast, approximate answers to OLAP aggregation queries.In this paper, we present a novel method that provides approximate answers to high-dimensional OLAP aggregation queries in massive sparse data sets in a time-efficient and space-efficient manner. We construct a compact data cube, which is an approximate and space-efficient representation of the underlying multidimensional array, based upon a multiresolution wavelet decomposition. In the on-line phase, each aggregation query can generally be answered using the compact data cube in one I/O or a smalll number of I/Os, depending upon the desired accuracy.We present two I/O-efficient algorithms to construct the compact data cube for the important case of sparse high-dimensional arrays, which often arise in practice. The traditional histogram methods are infeasible for the massive high-dimensional data sets in OLAP applications. Previously developed wavelet techniques are efficient only for dense data. Our on-line query processing algorithm is very fast and capable of refining answers as the user demands more accuracy. Experiments on real data show that our method provides significantly more accurate results for typical OLAP aggregation queries than other efficient approximation techniques such as random sampling.
Conscience orientation and dimensions of personality

The common assumption that all “mature” people share the same moral and ethical standards has led psychologists (and others) to overlook the importance of individual differences in moral reasoning. But reasons, say the present authors, far from being an irrelevant adjunct to personality, are an important key to understanding it. This paper reports a study of four types of conscience orientation and their relationships to other personality characteristics.
C-terminal Fragments of the α1C(CaV1.2) Subunit Associate with and Regulate L-type Calcium Channels Containing C-terminal-truncated α1CSubunits

L-type Ca(2+) channels in native tissues have been found to contain a pore-forming alpha(1) subunit that is often truncated at the C terminus. However, the C terminus contains many important domains that regulate channel function. To test the hypothesis that C-terminal fragments may associate with and regulate C-terminal-truncated alpha(1C) (Ca(V)1.2) subunits, we performed electrophysiological and biochemical experiments. In tsA201 cells expressing either wild type or C-terminal-truncated alpha(1C) subunits in combination with a beta(2a) subunit, truncation of the alpha(1C) subunit by as little as 147 amino acids led to a 10-15-fold increase in currents compared with those obtained from control, full-length alpha(1C) subunits. Dialysis of cells expressing the truncated alpha(1C) subunits with C-terminal fragments applied through the patch pipette reconstituted the inhibition of the channels seen with full-length alpha(1C) subunits. In addition, C-terminal deletion mutants containing a tethered C terminus also exhibited the C-terminal-induced inhibition. Immunoprecipitation assays demonstrated the association of the C-terminal fragments with truncated alpha(1C) subunits. In addition, glutathione S-transferase pull-down assays demonstrated that the C-terminal inhibitory fragment could associate with at least two domains within the C terminus. The results support the hypothesis the C- terminal fragments of the alpha(1C) subunit can associate with C-terminal-truncated alpha(1C) subunits and inhibit the currents through L-type Ca(2+) channels.
Pharmacokinetics of testosterone after percutaneous gel or buccal administration.

Abstract Objective: To determine the pharmacokinetics of testosterone following its administration using transdermal gel or buccal lozenges. Design: Pilot study. Setting: University-based hospital. Patient(s): Ten bilaterally oophorectomized women. Intervention(s): Daily micronized testosterone gel (1 mg) and testosterone propionate lozenge (1 mg). Main Outcome Measure(s): Total testosterone, androstenedione, dihydrotestosterone, 3α–androstanediol glucuronide, and sex hormone–binding globulin were measured in serum by specific radioimmunoassays; free testosterone levels were also calculated. Result(s): Before treatment, serum testosterone levels in the groups using the lozenge and gel were 16 ± 4.0 and 20 ± 6.0 ng/dL, respectively. Mean maximum testosterone levels obtained with the lozenge occurred 1 hour after administration on days 1 (692 ± 236 ng/dL) and 14 (836 ± 309 ng/dL) of treatment and fell precipitously thereafter. In contrast, testosterone levels obtained with the gel showed a prolonged rise reaching maximal levels of 97 ± 78 and 100 ± 60 ng/dL after 18 hours. The serum level patterns of free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, and 3α–androstanediol glucuronide were similar to the corresponding total testosterone levels. Conclusion(s): Administration of testosterone lozenge by buccal absorption produced a rapid and brief elevation of testosterone levels, with levels reaching upper limits of the male range. In contrast, transdermal testosterone gel absorption resulted in a prolonged elevation of testosterone levels, which were in the hyperandrogenic female range but resembled steady state pharmacokinetics.