cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of hypercalcemia-producing tumor on 1,25(OH)2D3 biosynthesis in athymic mice

Serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] levels are low in patients with malignancy-associated hypercalcemia (MAH), whereas murine models of MAH have high circulating 1,25(OH)2D3. To determine the effects of a hypercalcemia-producing tumor on circulating 1,25(OH)2D3, in vitro 25-hydroxyvitamin D1-hydroxylase (1OHase) activity was measured in kidneys from BALB/c athymic mice implanted with a hypercalcemia-producing human lung tumor. Twelve days of low-phosphorus diet (LPD) in control animals lowered serum phosphorus to levels found in tumor-bearing mice fed normal phosphorus diet (NPD; 4.1 +/- 0.3 vs. 4.4 +/- 0.7 mg/dl, P = NS) and increased 1OHase activity (1.6 +/- 0.2 vs. 3.9 +/- 0.7 pmol.mg protein-1.5 min-1, NPD vs. LPD, P less than 0.05). 1OHase activity was greater in tumor-bearing animals fed NPD compared with control animals fed LPD (8.4 +/- 0.6 vs. 3.9 +/- 0.7 pmol.mg protein-1.5 min-1, P less than 0.01). High-phosphorus intake suppressed 1OHase activity in both control and tumor-bearing animals. Seven days of parathyroid hormone infusion in control animals fed NPD raised serum calcium (9.4 +/- 0.2 vs. 13.3 +/- 1.6 mg/dl, P less than 0.05) and suppressed 1OHase activity (0.25 +/- 0.02 vs. 0.02 +/- 0.002 pmol.mg protein-1.5 min-1, P less than 0.001). The inverse relationship of serum phosphorus and 1OHase activity was much steeper in the tumor-bearing animals, with greater enzyme activity at comparable levels of serum phosphorus. The present study indicates that 1) factors produced by the tumor stimulate 1OHase activity, and 2) hypophosphatemia is required for expression of enhanced enzyme activity.
Right Ventricular Infarction

Coronary Heart Disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A great amount is known about left ventricular myocardial infarction. It was not until much later (1974) that right ventricular myocardial infarction was studied as a separate entity. Isolated right ventricle myocardial infarction is rare. Around one-third of patients with acute infero-posterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, will present with concomitant right ventricular infraction. The aim of this paper is to review the literature on the importance of early recognition of right ventricular infarction, clinical presentation, pathophysiology, diagnostic evaluation, differential diagnosis, treatment, complications and prognosis.
Evaluation of left ventricular scar identification from contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for guidance of ventricular catheter ablation therapy

Patients with ventricular arrhythmias typically exhibit myocardial scarring, which is believed to be an important anatomic substrate for reentrant circuits, thereby making these regions a key target in catheter ablation therapy. In ablation therapy, a catheter is guided into the left ventricle and radiofrequency energy is delivered into the tissue to interrupt arrhythmic electrical pathways. Low bipolar voltage regions are typically localized during the procedure through point-by-point construction of an electroanatomic map by sampling the endocardial surface with the ablation catheter and are used as a surrogate for myocardial scar. This process is time consuming, requires significant skill, and has the potential to miss low voltage sites. This has led to efforts to quantify myocardial scar preoperatively using delayed, contrast-enhanced MRI. In this paper, we evaluate the utility of left ventricular scar identification from delayed contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for guidance of catheter ablation of ventricular arrhythmias. Myocardial infarcts were created in three canines followed by a delayed, contrast enhanced MRI scan and electroanatomic mapping. The left ventricle and myocardial scar is segmented from preoperative MRI images and sampled points from the procedural electroanatomical map are registered to the segmented endocardial surface. Sampled points with low bipolar voltage points visually align with the segmented scar regions. This work demonstrates the potential utility of using preoperative delayed, enhanced MRI to identify myocardial scarring for guidance of ventricular catheter ablation therapy.
Notes on Boletes. XII

Charles Christopher Frost, the "shoemaker botanist" of Brattleboro, Vermont, who did not stick to his last, by the simple procedures of early botany in a rather restricted locality over 75 years ago, turned up a surprising number of new boleti that even the redoubtable Charles Horton Peck with broader opportunities of time and area had not found. Several of Frost's species like B. pallidus and B. griseus are very common in oak woods over eastern North America at least; some like B. miniato-olivaceus, B. Russellii, B. speciosus, B. Peckii and Leccinum chromapes (Frost) Singer are not uncommon; the epithet robustus had been previously used by Fries and the species is now Tylopilus eximius (Peck) Singer; and others are still puzzles. For example, no one is yet quite sure what, with others, B. sordidus, B. limatulus, B. serotillus and B. unicolor are.
Proteins of Developing Worker Honey Bees, Apis mellifera, ,

The fluid proteins of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L., have not been examined extensively. Liu and Dixon (1965) separated hemolymph proteins of worker and queen larvae, and Martin (1965) similarly investigated the hemolymph of adult worker bees. Lensky (1967) reported separation by paper electrophoresis of egg homogenates, 5-day-old larvae, prepupae, 2-day-old pupae, 6-day-old pupae, emerging adult workers, and adult field bees. Recently, hemolymph proteins of adult queens and drones were separated by disc electrophoresis (Lensky and Alumot 1969).
Humanistic Inquiry Methods for Cross-Cultural International Marketing Research

In Cross-cultural international marketing research there is often a need to analyze unique social, religious and traditional values which is often not satisfied by the positivistic method of research. It is recommended that a blending of the humanistic inquiry with the positivistic method could improve the accuracy of such research. A method for utilizing the humanistic method is outlined and critiqued from the positivistic viewpoint. Each step of the proposed methodology is developed in such a manner as to be acceptable to both philosophies. Some of the various problems associated with blending the methods are analyzed and recommendations are offered which will allow for improved generalization of the results for international marketing research.
Study of mental health status of higher vocational college students and its countermeasure

Objective To investigate the mental health status of higher vocational college students who were born after 1990(post-90s) and propose corresponding countermeasures.Methods 4540 higher vocational students were investigated with symptom checklist 90(SCL-90) and university personality inventory questionnaire(UPI) to evaluate their mental health conditions.Results Mental health conditions of the higher vocational students were well generally.17.87% of the students suffered a poor mental health status,they should be given most focus(Class-1).32.21% of students suffered a relatively poor mental health status,they should be given focus(Class-2).Conclusion More atten tion should be paid on the mental health of the higher vocational college students.Further more,the relevant research should be strengthened,the methods and ways of teaching should be improved,in order to enhance the pertinence and effectiveness of the education.
ELECTROMAGNETIC RESPONSE OF CONDUCTING SPHERE WITH TIME-VARYING CONDUCTIVITY

Prom the non-homogeneous Maxwell equations, the auther derived the analytical solution for a homogeneous conducting sphere induced by homogeneous electromagnetic field, as well as the analytical solution for an inhomogeneous conducting sphere under the influence of inhomogeneous inducing field in the free space. A few examples of geophysical interest in response problems of this kind are metioned also.
[Angiographic imaging of blood vessels of the lower leg in acute ischemia: comparison of intravenous DSA and intra-arterial DSA].

Die Darstellbarkeit der Unterschenkelgefasse und des Arcus plantaris wurde an Patienten mit akuter Ischamie vergleichend mittels intravenoser DSA und intraarterieller DSA, bzw. Feinnadelpunktion (FNP) untersucht. Die intravenose DSA erlaubt lediglich eine Darstellung der Peripherie bis zur Arteria poplitea. Der distale Anschluss und der Arcus plantaris sind lediglich in der i.a.-DSA, besser noch mit FNP darstellbar. Konsequenterweise sollte bei akuter Ischamie des Unterschenkels die Angiographie als FNP durchgefuhrt werden.
POSTER: Semantics-Aware Rule Recommendation and Enforcement for Event Paths

With users’ increasing awareness of security and privacy issues, Android’s permission mechanism and other existing methods fall short to provide effective protection over user data. This paper presents SARRE, a Semantics-Aware Rule Recommendation and Enforcement system to detect critical information outflows and prevent information leakage. SARRE leverages runtime monitoring and statistical analysis to identify system event paths. Then, an online recommendation algorithm is developed to automatically assign and enforce a semantics-aware security rule to each event path. Our preliminary results on real-world malware samples and popular apps from Google Play show that the recommended rules by our system are effective in preventing information leakage and enabling protection policies for users’ private data.
New Developments in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Urinary Tract Infections

AbstractNot long ago it was customary to expect an atmosphere of confrontation and controversy when urologic surgeons and infectious disease physicians met at conferences and symposia. Even more often each group exhibited an attitude of “benign neglect” towards the other. Times have changed in large part because of the efforts of the leadership group in urology. The establishment of an Advisory Board for this Journal, drawn from non-urological disciplines, is one example of the effort being made to draw together all concerned with urinary tract infections and pyelonephritis.I have been asked to review some practical up-to-date matters relating to the diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections and pyelonephritis from the point of view of an infectious disease physician. However, it may be helpful to begin with a synthesis of current concepts of the natural history of urinary tract infection, since the need for early diagnosis and the tactics for treatment depend largely on our expectations for the...
Intonational sentence-type conventions for perlocutionary effects: An experimental investigation

One of the major open issues in semantics and pragmatics concerns the role of convention in relating sentence types with illocutionary acts and perlocutionary effects. For the type-to-illocution connection, some degree of force conventionalism seems to be widely accepted. In contrast, Austin (1962) and many subsequent researchers have assumed that perlocution is not a matter of convention, but rather arises inexorably from illocution, content, and context. In this paper, we challenge this fundamental assumption about perlocution with evidence from a new perception experiment focused on perlocutionary effects relating to the listener’s conception of the speaker as a social actor. We find that these effects are predictable from sentence type plus intonation (‘type + tune’), that they vary by type + tune, and that they are consistent across a wide range of sentence contents, contexts, and illocutionary inferences. We argue that these conventions are naturally incorporated into existing work on sentence-type conventions.
Oxidative stress, DNA methylation, and telomere length changes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells after pulmonary exposure to metal-rich welding nanoparticles

Welding fume is a complex mixture of different potentially cytotoxic and genotoxic metals, such as chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and iron (Fe). Documented health effects have been observed in workers exposed to welding fume. The objective of the study was to use an animal model to identify potential biomarkers of epigenetic changes (e.g., changes in telomere length, DNA methylation) in isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) after exposure to different welding fumes. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed by intratracheal instillation (ITI) of 2.0 mg/rat of gas metal arc-mild steel (GMA-MS) or manual metal arc-stainless steel (MMA-SS) welding fume. Vehicle controls received sterile saline by ITI. At 4 h, 14 h, 1 d, 3 d, 10 d, and 30 d, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed to assess lung inflammation. Whole blood was collected, and PBMCs were isolated. Dihydroethidium (DHE) fluorescence and 4-hydroxylnonenal protein adduct (P-HNE) formation were measured in PBMCs to assess reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. DNA alterations in PBMCs were determined by evaluating changes in DNA methylation and telomere length. Metal composition of the two fumes was different: MMA-SS (41 % Fe, 29 % Cr, 17 % Mn, 3 % Ni) versus GMA-MS (85 % Fe, 14 % Mn). The more soluble and chemically complex MMA-SS sample induced a more persistent and greater inflammatory response compared to the other groups. Also, oxidative stress markers increased at 24 h in the PBMCs recovered from the MMA-SS group compared to other group. No significant differences were observed when comparing DNA methylation between the welding fume and control groups at any of the time points, whereas the MMA-SS sample significantly increased telomere length at 1 and 30 d after a single exposure compared to the other groups. These findings suggest that genotoxic metals in MMA-SS fume (e.g., Cr and Ni), that are absent in the GMA-MS fume, may enhance lung toxicity, as well as induce markers of oxidative stress and increase telomere length in PBMCs. Importantly, the measurement of telomere length in cells isolated from peripheral blood may serve as a potential biomarker of response in the assessment of toxicity associated with welding fumes.
Provision of annual wellness visits with comprehensive medication management by a clinical pharmacist practitioner

Purpose The effectiveness and financial benefit of pharmacist-led annual wellness visits (AWVs) in conjunction with comprehensive medication management (CMM) for older, high-risk patients were examined. Methods Eligible patients were 65 years of age or older with three or more chronic medical conditions, taking five or more long-term prescription or nonprescription medications and receiving primary care in a retirement community clinic. The intervention involved two components, an AWV and CMM. The AWV included all Medicare-required components. All participants saw a clinical pharmacist practitioner for an AWV with CMM and additional CMM visits at three and six months. Outcomes included completion of required AWV components, prevalence of medication-related problems (MRPs), classic return on investment, patient satisfaction, and change in rate of hospitalization. Results Of the 60 eligible patients contacted, 53 (88%) agreed to participate. Patients’ mean ± S.D. age was 82.1 ± 5.5 years, and patients used a median of 12 medications (range, 5–27) at baseline. The pharmacist identified at least 1 MRP in 90.6% of patients at the AWV; all patients had at least 1 MRP identified over six months. A total of 278 MRPs were identified: suboptimal drug (32.7%), insufficient therapeutic monitoring (25.2%), undertreatment of chronic condition (16.9%), and suboptimal dose, frequency, or administration (15.8%). Revenue generated by the pharmacist exceeded costs by 38.1%. The rate of hospitalizations did not significantly change after the intervention. Conclusion Pharmacists played a beneficial role in the provision of both AWVs and CMM, facilitating the completion of wellness visits and identifying and addressing MRPs in an older, high-risk population.
Label-free longitudinal monitoring of melanogenesis in the evolution of melanoma treatment resistance (Conference Presentation)

While melanoma is not the most common form of skin cancer, it represents the vast majority of skin cancer-related deaths. Indeed, while combination therapies such as Dabrafenib and Trametinib have shown great promise in clinical trials for treating metastatic disease, some melanoma subtypes nevertheless develop resistances to front-line treatments. Under in vitro conditions, some metastatic human melanoma cell lines have been observed to evolve resistance to treatment while simultaneously changing color under brightfield microscopy, hinting at perturbations in pigment synthesis. The process known as melanogenesis gives rise to the two forms of melanin found in mammals: eumelanin, a dark brown/black pigment, and pheomelanin, a much more pale red/blond pigment. Interestingly, pheomelanin has been shown to contribute to the onset and development of melanoma in an ultraviolet-radiation-independent manner through a mechanism of oxidative stress. Eumelanin, on the other hand, is a known antioxidant whose chemical properties seem to shield cells against oxidative damage. To study these pigments in closer detail, nonlinear optical microscopy including coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) was used for the specific visualization and quantification of the relative abundance of pheomelanin and eumelanin within these treatment resistant cell lines. These microscopy toolkits provide a means to monitor changes in pigmentation in a noninvasive and non-destructive manner without the use of exogenous dyes to better understand the molecular basis of treatment resistance.
Reconfigurable architecture of neuro-physiological sensors for mobile health system

Reconfigurability in a Body Sensor Network (BSN) increases the scalability and heterogeneous potential of the sensor network to provide efficient patient-specific monitoring. Therefore, in this work, a key question is addressed: how to design a BSN with inherited modularity and scalability? To answer this question, we have designed integrated wearable "Smart Sensor Nodes" (SSN) consisting of EEG and piezo-resistive sensors to measure brain and heart-rate signals, respectively, at real-life settings. The modularity in EEG sensing is introduced by using a novel analog front end that can measure brain signals without using the conventional Driven-Right-Leg (DRL) circuit. The reconfigurability in the network is realized by connecting SSNs to a Command Control Node (CCN) using a five-pin digital Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) bus interface at 100 kbps bus-speed. The CCN synchronizes the attached SSNs every second, aggregates data from the SSNs and wirelessly sends the data via a Bluetooth transceiver at a baud rate of 115.2 kbps. The network is scalable to any SSN attached with or detached from the bus. This allows reconfigurability and hardware node upgrade without the redesign of the entire system. We have functionally validated few custom-designed SSNs (three EEG SSNs and one heart rate variability SSN) against the commercially available EEG and pulse oximeter. The proposed reconfigurable architecture promises a scalable BSN in mobile health (mHealth) that can be connected to any neuro-physiological sensor for data acquisition in the practical settings.
Prospective Validation of Clinical Score for Males Presenting With an Acute Scrotum.

Objective To validate the Testicular Workup for Ischemia and Suspected Torsion (TWIST) score among pediatric emergency medicine providers for the evaluation of pediatric males presenting with testicular pain and swelling (acute scrotum). Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study of males 3 months to 18 years old presenting with an acute scrotum. History and physical examination findings, including components of the TWIST score (hard testicle, absent cremasteric reflex, nausea/vomiting, and high riding testicle) as well as diagnostic results (ultrasound, urine, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing) were recorded. Testicular torsion was confirmed by surgical exploration. Frequencies of patient characteristics, TWIST components, and tests were calculated. We performed the kappa statistic for inter-rater reliability and calculated the test characteristics and receiver operator curves for the TWIST score (range 0-7). Results During the study period 258 males were enrolled in the study; 19 (7.4%) had testicular torsion. The mean age was 9.8 years (± 0.3 years). The high-risk TWIST score of 7 had 100% specificity (95% confidence interval (CI) 98%, 100%) with 100% positive predictive value (95% CI 40%, 100%) for testicular torsion. The area under the curve was 0.82. The kappa statistic for the overall TWIST score was fair at 0.39. Conclusions In this prospective validation of the TWIST score among pediatric emergency providers, the high-risk score demonstrated strong test characteristics for testicular torsion. The TWIST score could be used as part of a standardized approach for evaluation of the pediatric acute scrotum to provide more efficient and effective care. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Remembering Fraud in the Future: Investigating and Improving Auditors’ Attention to Fraud during Audit Testing

During the testing stages of the audit, auditors must divide their finite attentional resources (i.e., cognitive resources) between simultaneously (1) performing the planned audit procedures and (2) remaining broadly skeptical and alert for fraud. Regulators note instances in which auditors do not sufficiently consider fraud during these later stages, suggesting auditors may devote insufficient attention to fraud. Leveraging prospective memory theory, I confirm standard setters’ concerns as I hypothesize and find that when audit conditions prompt auditors to perceive their task of considering fraud as relatively less important, auditors performing the planned audit procedures devote a smaller portion of their attentional resources to remaining alert for fraud, making them less likely to recognize fraud cues within the evidence and take actions toward detecting fraud. However, I also find that encouraging auditors to have implementation intentions about fraud (i.e., more detailed plans about when and how they will consider fraud) interacts with perceived fraud task importance to increase auditors’ attention to fraud when this attention would otherwise be lower, making auditors more likely to take fraud detection actions. My study contributes to literature and practice as I identify decreases in auditors’ attention allocated to fraud (versus to performing the planned audit procedures) as an important factor, unique to the testing stages of the audit, that makes auditors less likely to respond to fraud. I also demonstrate a theory-based intervention that can counteract these effects to increase auditors’ attention to fraud, improving fraud detection and audit quality.
The Effect of Cultivated Area and the Prices of Buying the Rice on Its Production in AL- Qadisiyah Province-Iraq During (1990-2014) by Using VECM

The study aims to determine the effect of the cultivated area and the purchase price on the production of rice in the province of Al-Qadissiya - Iraq for the period (1990-2014). Johansen and Juseliusmethod is used to test the co-integration between the variables. Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) is employed to determine the direction of the causality between production and priceof rice, as well as between the production of rice and the area cultivated in the short and long run. The analysis of the results shows that there is a co-integration among the variables, and the direction of the relationship is a directional move from cultivated area to production of rice, and from price to production of rice in the short and long run. The study recommends to expand the cultivated area along with maintaining the farm and not to converted to other crops, in addition of determining the purchase price of the crop at the beginning of the agricultural season to ensure a good income for farmers in order to motivate them to increase production.
Broad Host-Range Plasmid R1162: Replication, Incompatibility, and Copy-Number Control

R1162 is a small [8.7 kilobases (kb)]plasmid encoding resistance to sulfonamides (SuR) and streptomycin (SmR), and replicating with a high copy-number in Escherichia coli (at least 10 copies per chromosome) (1). The plasmid is not self-transmissible, but may be readily mobilized by certain other conjugative plasmids, such as those of the P-l incompatibility group (2). Originally isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3), R1162 has a broad host-range (1,4–6). Plasmids which appear very similar to R1162 have been isolated from diverse bacteria (1,7); many of these may be identical representatives of the same far-ranging plasmid. At present there do not seem to be any clear differences between R1162 and the best-studied member of this group, RSF1010 (from E. coli) (1).
Development of Internet of Things indicators in Rwanda based on stakeholder analysis

The growth of electronic devices connected to the Internet brings new concerns. These include security, privacy, user rights, data generation, spectrum management, and liability. Countries and organizations are developing policies to accommodate the Internet of Things (IoT). In this paper, we identified IoT indicators useful for policy makers. We considered four categories of indicators. These were: electronic appliances, information management facilities; device communication, and human capacity. We collected data from stakeholders and analysed it based on IoT adoption criteria. While we focus on Rwanda, the methods and measures are global.
Reprocessing of SUOMI NPP VIIRS sensor data records and impacts on environmental applications

This study describes the improved calibration applied for VIIRS SDR reprocessing. At reflective solar bands (RSBs), the earth-view F-factor is adjusted with the lunar observations and changes about 2% in band M2-M4 in past five years. An empirical method is applied to remove the radiance spikes in VIIRS thermal emissive bands (TEBs) during the blackbody Warm-Up-Cool-Down (WUCD). VIIRS DNB calibration is improved by applying continuous spectral response changes, new bias tables, updated gain ratio tables, stray light tables, and terrain corrections.
Classification in Climatology

Few, if any, areas of geography rival climatology in terms of emphasis on classification. Indeed, it can be argued that far too much effort in climatology has been spent on classification exercises of questionable value (Hare, 1951; Wilcock, 1968). In 1969, Borgel listed 169 different climatic classifications that had appeared in the literature, but the general lack of Russian listings suggests that the number should have been substantially higher. Since that time, a variety of new climatic classifications of outstanding merit have been proposed. Examples include classifications based upon air mass frequencies (Oliver, 1970), satellite measurements of net radiation, vorticity, and atmospheric moisture (Barrett, 1970), energy balance terms (Terjung, 1970; Terjung and Louie, 1972), and daily insolation levels (Willmott and Vernon; 1980).
Cache-aided combination networks with secrecy guarantees

In this paper, we study a cache-aided combination network, where a layer of relay nodes connects a server to a set of end users, under three different secrecy requirements. Both the relays and the end users are equipped with caches. First, we consider secure delivery where we require that an external entity must not gain any information about the database files by observing the transmitted signals over the network links. Second, we consider secure caching where we require that an end user must not be able to obtain any information about a file that he did not request. Last, we consider both of these requirements simultaneously. We jointly optimize the cache placement and delivery phases in order to minimize the delivery load over each of the two hops, and demonstrate the impact of the network topology on the system performance under these secrecy requirements.
Dental Hard Tissue Engineering

Improved methods of bone regeneration are needed to greatly improve the medical treatment options to vast numbers of patients suffering from different types of bone injury. Bone can be injured in many ways: as a result of trauma or aging, and from diseases such as cancer, osteoporosis, and periodontal disease. Drug side effects, as seen when using bisphosphonate for treatment of osteoporosis and metastatic bone cancer, can also destroy bone [1, 2]. Specific indications for bone repair in dental and craniofacial reconstruction include bone augmentation prior to prosthetic reconstruction, fracture repair, and repair of bone defects secondary to trauma, tumor resection, and congenital deformities. In roughly half of all individuals in the United States, periodontal disease alone is projected to result in the loss of six teeth per individual by age 65 years [3, 4]. Clearly, bone loss remains a major health care concern.
Cellular Interactions Regulating Inflammation

Chronic inflammation characteristic of a variety of diseases is driven by immunologic processes. The introduction of a foreign antigen initiates a cascade of events that results in various manifestations of chronic inflammation. Central to this process is the T lymphocyte that recognizes antigen and is thereby triggered to undergo a series of morphologic and metabolic changes. Once activated, the T lymphocyte plays a central role in the initiation and maintenance of immunologically mediated inflammation. One mechanism whereby activated T lymphocytes propagate the inflammatory response is the production of lymphokines. Lymphokines are antigen-nonspecific-secreted products that exert effects on a variety of cell types that bear specific receptors for various lymphokines. Lymphokines may affect cells of the same lineage or different cell types both inside and outside the immune system. Moreover, some lymphokines have a variety of effects on several different cell types.
Association of Music with Stress, Test Anxiety, and Test Grades Among High School Students.

Music is an integral part of many adolescents’ lives and has been shown to have anxiety-relieving effects in high-stress settings, such as hospitals. Adolescents also face high levels of stress in academic environments, which have been correlated with poor academic performance, particularly test grades. However, the relationship between stress, academic performance, and music listening among adolescents has not been studied. We hypothesized that students who spent more time listening to music while studying would report lower levels of stress and receive higher test grades. A survey assessing academic stress, test anxiety, and music listening habits was administered in science classes following quarterly testing. Test grades were obtained as objective measures of academic performance. We found that time spent listening to music while studying was positively correlated with test anxiety and academic stress and negatively correlated with test performance. Though girls reported higher levels of stress than boys, they did not have significantly different test grades. Music-listening habits differed between academic levels, with introductory levels reporting more time listening to music, higher levels of stress, and poorer test grades than more advanced levels. When adjusted for these differences, the association of music with test grades was rendered non-significant suggesting that academic rigor and test anxiety mediated the association of music with test grades. Because music was not found to be associated with decreased stress in academic settings, it is possible that it might be distracting in the study environment. The distraction theory, which posits that music helps individuals cope by distracting them from stressful scenarios, has been proposed to explain the pain-relieving nature of music in hospital settings. This may explain the lack of stress-reduction by music in an academic context. These findings may help students create more effective, less stressful study environments.
Creep Mechanisms in Bone and Dentin Via High-Energy X-ray Diffraction

Bone and dentin are highly complex, hierarchical composite materials with exceptional properties due to their unique composition and structure. They are essentially the same material with varied structural organization. They are three phase composites made up of a ceramic component, hydroxyapatite (HAP), a polymeric or proteinaceous component, collagen, and fluid filled porosity. A number of macroscopic studies have shown that both dentin [1-6] and bone [7-9] undergo visco-elastic, creep deformation and stress-relaxation behaviors. The problem with these bulk experiments is that they do not give information about which phase is contributing to the macroscopic creep or how. Some of these inquiries have suggested that the collagen is not responsible [9] and that creep in hard biological materials is primarily due to dislocations in the HAP mineral. On the other hand, others have said that collagen is completely responsible for the creep [8, 10]. These uncertainties make it essential to use techniques that allow for the study of the behavior of these very different components simultaneously during loading, determining their participation in creep. One such technique is synchrotron diffraction.
Self-reported health behaviors, including sleep, correlate with doctor-informed medical conditions: data from the 2011 Health Related Behaviors Survey of U.S. Active Duty Military Personnel

Health behaviors and cardiometabolic disease risk factors may differ between military and civilian populations; therefore, in U.S. active duty military personnel, we assessed relationships between demographic characteristics, self-reported health behaviors, and doctor-informed medical conditions. Data were self-reported by 27,034 active duty military and Coast Guard personnel who responded to the 2011 Department of Defense Health Related Behaviors Survey. Multivariate linear and logistic regressions were used to estimate cross-sectional associations between (1) demographic characteristics (age, sex, service branch, marital status, children, race/ethnicity, pay grade) and self-reported behaviors (exercise, diet, smoking, alcohol, sleep); (2) demographic characteristics and doctor-informed medical conditions (hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, hyperglycemia) and overweight/obesity; and (3) behaviors and doctor-informed medical conditions. Among respondents (age 29.9 ± 0.1 years, 14.7% female), females reported higher intake than men of fruit, vegetables, and dairy; those with higher education reported higher intakes of whole grains; those currently married and/or residing with children reported higher intake of starches. Older age and female sex were associated with higher odds (ORs 1.25 to 12.54 versus the youngest age group) of overweight/obesity. Older age and female sex were also associated with lower odds (ORs 0.29 to 0.65 versus male sex) of doctor-informed medical conditions, except for blood glucose, for which females had higher odds. Those currently married had higher odds of high cholesterol and overweight/obesity, and separated/divorced/widowed respondents had higher odds of high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Short sleep duration (< 5 versus 7–8 h/night) was associated with higher odds (ORs 1.36to 2.22) of any given doctor-informed medical condition. Strength training was associated with lower probability of high cholesterol, high triglycerides, and low HDL, and higher probability of overweight/obesity. Dietary factors were variably associated with doctor-informed medical conditions and overweight/obesity. This study observed pronounced associations between health behaviors—especially sleep—and medical conditions, thus adding to evidence that sleep is a critical, potentially modifiable behavior within this population. When possible, adequate sleep should continue to be promoted as an important part of overall health and wellness throughout the military community.
Wearable Water Content Sensor Based on Ultrasound and Magnetic Sensing

Fluid accumulation in the lower extremities is an early indicator of disease deterioration in cardiac failure, chronic venous insufficiency and lymphedema. At-home wearable monitoring and early detection of fluid accumulation can potentially lead to prompt medical intervention and avoidance of hospitalization. Current methods of fluid accumulation monitoring either suffer from lack of specificity and sensitivity or are invasive and cost-prohibitive to use on a daily basis. Ultrasound velocity in animal and human tissue has been found to change with water content. However, previous prototype fluid monitoring sensors based on ultrasound are cumbersome and not wearable. Hence, in this research a compact water content sensor based on a wearable instrumented elastic band is proposed. A novel integration of magnetic sensing and ultrasonic sensing is utilized, where the magnetic sensor provides distance measurement and the ultrasonic sensor produces time-of-flight measurement. Magnetic field modeling with a Kalman filter and least squares linear fitting algorithms are employed to ensure robust sensor performance on a wearable device. The combination of the two measurements yields ultrasound velocity measurement in tissue. The water content sensor prototype was tested on a tissue phantom, on animal tissue and on a human leg. The error in velocity measurement is shown to be small enough for early detection of tissue edema.
Electron Energy Distribution Function and Rate Coefficients in Field Emission-Driven Townsend Discharge Regime*

Electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and rate coefficients for various collisions are essential for understanding the fundamental behavior of plasmas and plasma-chemical processes. Commonly, EEDFs and rate coefficients are calculated and measured based on the parameter of reduced electric field. In this paper, one-dimensional kinetic and analytic models have been developed for direct current microplasmas in the field emission-driven Townsend discharge regime. Results show that when the mean free path is comparable with the characteristic length of the discharge, the EEDFs is comprised of two components – a highly collisional component reflecting Maxwellian-like behavior and non-collisional, ballistic component. The former one depends on the reduced electric field, while the later one is only a function of the applied voltage. This breaks the conventional scaling based on the reduced field and provides new scaling in the field emission-driven Townsend discharge regime, offering new potential for controlling plasma-driven chemistry at small scales.
Photoelastic analysis for gravity stresses with stress-frozen gelatin

Gravity stresses in a vertical shaft and a sphere are investigated photoelastically using stress-frozen gelatin to demonstrate the potential of this approach for three-dimensional analysis, particularly with body-force loading. Properties of gelatin mixtures at varying temperatures from 20°C to 2°C are outlined in detail sufficient to show variables affecting the basic stress-freezing phenomenon and allow design of experiments. Even using relatively unrefined techniques, the close agreement of analytic to experimental results for the vertical shaft indicates the good accuracy obtainable from this simple and inexpensive method. Using improved techniques, results for the heavy sphere for which no analytic solution is available are then found allowing interpretation of other experimental results for this problem.
Visual performance and optical quality in keratoconus

Eyes with keratoconus have abnormal corneal optics that reduce spatial contrast sensitivity. The vision of keratoconus patients has been studied at high light levels; however, losses in contrast sensitivity should be more pronounced when the pupil is large because the steepest portion of the cornea is often located peripherally. We measured contrast sensitivity at low luminance in several subjects with mild cases of keratoconus, and compared sensitivity to retinal image quality measured by an objective method. The contrast sensitivity deficit at low to middle spatial frequencies became more pronounced at low luminance. Retinal image quality was also reduced in keratoconus, even for moderate pupil sizes. Wave-front aberrations in the pupil plane were also measured on two subjects. The dominant aberrations were astigmatism and coma, but higher order aberrations were present. Rigid contact lenses corrected most of the aberrations and improved sensitivity, particularly at low luminance.
Outcomes of mitral valve surgery for severe ischemic mitral regurgitation

Background This study evaluated outcomes of mitral valve surgery for severe ischemic mitral regurgitation (IMR). Methods Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with concomitant mitral valve repair (MVr) or replacement (MVR) for severe IMR at a single center between 2010 and 2017 were included. The primary outcome was 5-year survival. Secondary outcomes included operative mortality and morbidity, hospital readmission, recurrence of at least moderate mitral regurgitation (MR), and mitral valve reoperation. Results A total of 358 patients underwent concomitant mitral valve surgery with CABG for severe IMR (275 MVr and 83 MVR). Unadjusted and risk-adjusted operative mortality was higher in MVR (16% vs 8%; P = .04). MVR patients had higher rates of postoperative renal failure, prolonged ventilation, and deep sternal wound infection. The unadjusted 5-year survival was similar (MVR 64% vs MVr 64%; P = .41), a finding that persisted after risk-adjustment. The 5-year freedom from mitral valve reoperation was 96% and 97% (P = .47). Freedom from at least moderate MR at 1-year and 3-years was 100% vs 86% (P = .09) and 100% vs 68% (P = .06) for MVR and MVr, respectively. However, only three MVr patients developed severe MR by 3 years. Cumulative hazards for all-cause readmission and heart failure-specific readmission were higher with MVR. Conclusions Despite a trend towards higher risk of MR recurrence, patients undergoing MVr have similar rates of survival and mitral valve reoperation, with lower rates of readmission at 5-years. This, combined with lower operative mortality rates, makes MVr a reasonable choice particularly in sicker patients with higher operative risk and more limited life expectancy.
Improving on transfer entropy-based network reconstruction using time-delays: Approach and validation

Transfer entropy constitutes a viable model-free tool to infer causal relationships between two dynamical systems from their time-series. In an information-theoretic sense, transfer entropy associates a cause-and-effect relationship with directed information transfer, such that one may improve the prediction of the future of a dynamical system from the history of another system. Recent studies have proposed the use of transfer entropy to reconstruct networks, but the inherent dyadic nature of this metric challenges the development of a robust approach that can discriminate direct from indirect interactions between nodes. In this paper, we seek to fill this methodological gap through the cogent integration of time-delays in the transfer entropy computation. By recognizing that information transfer in the network is bound by a finite speed, we relate the value of the time-delayed transfer entropy between two nodes to the number of walks between them. Upon this premise, we lay out the foundation of an alternative framework for network reconstruction, which we illustrate through closed-form results on three-node networks and numerically validate on larger networks, using examples of Boolean models and chaotic maps.
P55 Providing Nutrition Education to Refugees: Successful Strategies and Barriers to Success In Current Programs

Background Refugees face many changes in purchasing and preparing nutritious food for their families upon relocation. Nutrition education can be an important part of improving nutrition and health for refugees. Objective To survey current providers of refugee nutrition education in the United States about current program implementation, successful program strategies, program challenges, and future program needs. Study Design, Setting, Participants All program directors of Supplemental Nutrition Education Program – Education (SNAP-Ed) and Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) programs in the US were invited to complete an online Qualtrics survey. Measurable Outcome/Analysis SPSS was used to run descriptive statistics on the quantitative variables; grounded theory was used to explore the qualitative data. Results Forty-one participants from 36 states responded to the survey. Thirteen directors from 12 states reported implementing no programs targeted at refugees in the past year. Twenty-eight directors from 24 states reported implementing at least 1 program targeted at refugees in the past year. The average number of programs reported by states that had at least 1 program was 4. Directors ranked the efficacy of the programs they implemented from 0-100% effective. The average efficacy of programs was 75.8 (range 20 – 100; SD 17.6). Hands-on, skill-based learning such as gardening, cooking classes, grocery store tours, and tasting experiences emerged as a main theme of successful programs. Language and cultural issues including the need for translation in multiple languages and culturally sensitive curriculum emerged as main themes of challenges to successful programs. Conclusions Extension programs provide nutrition education to refugees in many states. Future programs aimed at helping refugees to healthfully adapt to their new food environments should provide culturally sensitive opportunities for skill-based learning.
The Use of AI for Thermal Emotion Recognition: A Review of Problems and Limitations in Standard Design and Data

Presented at AAAI FSS-20: Artificial Intelligence in Government and Public Sector, Washington, DC, USA
Building the Bridge Between Schools and Families through Assessment of Young English Language Learners

Teachers of English Language Learners have a unique opportunity to connect with families through observation, documentation, and assessment of these children. Using a developmentally appropriate and asset-based approach, assessment information can be collected and shared with families to engage them in the learning process. This article provides the practical steps of using a variety of primarily formative assessment methods by which teachers of ELL's can build this vital bridge to families successfully.
Management of In-laboratory Cardiopulmonary Arrest

The purpose of this review is to update the reader on the risk factors, causes, and mechanisms for cardiac arrest in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. In addition, the review provides a summary of recently published data specifically pertaining to the management of in-lab cardiac arrest. The incidence of cardiac arrest in unselected patients undergoing cardiac catheterization is approximately 0.5%. ST elevation myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock account for the majority of cases. Pulseless electrical activity is the most common initial rhythm. Mechanical chest compression devices (especially if combined with a mechanical circulatory support device) can result in a high rate of return of spontaneous circulation, but survival is not different from patients receiving manual chest compressions. Case series have reported 40–60% short- and intermediate-term survival in patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and correction of the underlying cause of cardiac arrest. A systematic and protocol-driven approach to the management of in-lab cardiac arrest is essential to patient survival. The rapid initiation of ECMO and comprehensive post-arrest care can result in relatively high rates of survival in selected patients.