cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dry-period seasonal effects on the subsequent lactation

Photoperiod and heat stress during the dry period influence subsequent lactation performance and health. To determine the effects of seasonal heat stress during the dry period on subsequent lactation performance, occurrence of health disorders during the first 80 DIM, and reproduction performance during the first 150 DIM, records of 2,613 multiparous cows under commercial conditions in Florida over 3 yr were analyzed. Seasons were COOL (December, January, and February) and HOT (June, July, and August). Traits analyzed were lactation number, 305-d milk production, calving interval, number of breedings, days open, and occurrence of postpartum health disorders such as digestive problems, mastitis, metritis, retained fetal membranes, and respiratory problems. Cows dry during HOT months had less milk yield in the subsequent lactation relative to COOL cows (10,351 vs. 10,902 kg; P < 0.01). Additionally, HOT cows had a greater incidence of mastitis (P < 0.01) and respiratory problems (P < 0.01) compared with COOL cows. Moreover, cows exposed to heat tended to have a greater incidence of retained fetal membrane (P < 0.06) compared with cows cooled while dry. Of interest, COOL cows had a greater incidence of postpartum digestive problems (P < 0.01). Additionally, cows dried during hot months had increased breeding number (P = 0.03), DIM to first breeding (P < 0.01), and DIM to pregnancy diagnosis (P < 0.01) in the subsequent lactation. Therefore, environmental-management strategies during the dry period may be needed to attain optimal lactation performance.
Evaluation of 70–150-μm doxorubicin-eluting beads for transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in the rabbit liver VX2 tumour model

Aim To evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile (PK) and embolization effect of 70–150-μm doxorubicin eluting beads (DEBs) following intra-arterial injection (i.a.) in the rabbit liver VX2 tumour model.
Factors Influencing Retention Of Rural Pennsylvania Family Physicians

Background: Rural areas suffer from a lack of primary care physicians. Efforts to retain physicians should focus on modifying or changing attributes of rural practice that are considered by physicians to be undesirable. A practice support outreach program (PSOP) is one initiative expected to enhance retention in rural areas by addressing negative aspects of rural practice. The purpose of this study was to assess factors related to satisfaction and retention of family physicians to develop and implement a PSOP in rural areas of Pennsylvania. Method: In 1993 a mail survey was conducted on a convenience sample of 398 family physicians practicing in 39 counties in Pennsylvania. Results: Twenty percent of respondents were considering leaving rural practice. Bivariate analyses indicated that professional isolation, lower reimbursements, and sharing on-call with only 1 other physician were associated with physicians9 reasons for considering leaving rural practice. A multiple logistic regression revealed that sharing on-call rotation with only 1 other physician and having a solo practice were significant influences in considering leaving rural practice. Conclusions: Findings suggest support strategies that minimize perceptions of professional isolation and policy efforts that address reimbursement differentials and compliance issues are needed to minimize many complaints of rural family physicians.
The role of opponent basal ganglia outputs in behavior

This review is an attempt to explain the role of basal ganglia (BG) outputs in generating movements. Recent work showed that opponent outputs from the BG represent instantaneous body position coordinates during behavior. On the other hand, projection neurons in the striatum, the major input nucleus, as well as dopaminergic neurons that form the nigrostriatal pathway, can represent movement velocity. To explain these findings, a new model is proposed, in which the BG implement the level of transition control in an extended control hierarchy. BG outputs represent descending reference signals that command diverse lower-level position controllers. This model not only explains major neurological symptoms but also makes quantitative and testable predictions.
Impacts of Capital Investment from China's Agricultural Sector on Technical Efficiency in Food Production:An Empirical Research Based on Spatial Econometrics Panel Model

The technical efficiency of China's grain production among regions was significantly different. The northeast,north,south and the Yangtze River regions were showing higher level,while the northwest,southwest and south were in lower level. This paper selected grain production and agriculture sector capital investment panel data from 30 provinces from the year of 2001 to 2011 to research the spatial location heterogeneity,the degree of spillover and diffusion level between technical efficiency of China's grain production and the agricultural sector capital investment. The results showed that the technical efficiency of China 's grain had obvious spatial concentration; capital investment had significantly influence on technical efficiency space diffusion; with spillover of capital and technology,the imbalance in food industry will become increasingly serious. As to this issue,it should focus on strengthening agricultural capital investment in northwest,central and southwestern regions to accelerate the pace of development of agricultural technology.
Performance Analysis of Exam Gloves Used for Aseptic Rodent Surgery

Aseptic technique includes the use of sterile surgical gloves for survival surgeries in rodents to minimize the incidence of infections. Exam gloves are much less expensive than are surgical gloves and may represent a cost-effective, readily available option for use in rodent surgery. This study examined the effectiveness of surface disinfection of exam gloves with 70% isopropyl alcohol or a solution of hydrogen peroxide and peracetic acid (HP–PA) in reducing bacterial contamination. Performance levels for asepsis were met when gloves were negative for bacterial contamination after surface disinfection and sham ‘exertion’ activity. According to these criteria, 94% of HP–PA-disinfected gloves passed, compared with 47% of alcohol-disinfected gloves. In addition, the effect of autoclaving on the integrity of exam gloves was examined, given that autoclaving is another readily available option for aseptic preparation. Performance criteria for glove integrity after autoclaving consisted of: the ability to don the gloves followed by successful simulation of wound closure and completion of stretch tests without tearing or observable defects. Using this criteria, 98% of autoclaved nitrile exam gloves and 76% of autoclaved latex exam gloves met performance expectations compared with the performance of standard surgical gloves (88% nitrile, 100% latex). The results of this study support the use of HP–PA-disinfected latex and nitrile exam gloves or autoclaved nitrile exam gloves as viable cost-effective alternatives to sterile surgical gloves for rodent surgeries.
Effect of lymphatic outflow pressure on lymphatic albumin transport in humans

The effects of posture on the lymphatic outflow pressure and lymphatic return of albumin were examined in 10 volunteers. Lymph flow was stimulated with a bolus infusion of isotonic saline (0.9%, 12...
TH-B-BRC-03: Measurement and Calibration Discrepancy: Advanced Warning Guidance

Radiation treatment consists of a chain of events influenced by the quality of machine operation, beam data commissioning, machine calibration, patient specific data, simulation, treatment planning, imaging and treatment delivery. There is always a chance that the clinical medical physicist may make or fail to detect an error in one of the events that may impact on the patient’s treatment. In the clinical scenario, errors may be systematic and, without peer review, may have a low detectability because they are not part of routine QA procedures. During treatment, there might be errors on machine that needs attention. External reviews of some of the treatment delivery components by independent reviewers, like IROC, can detect errors, but may not be timely. The goal of this session is to help junior clinical physicists identify potential errors as well as the approach of quality assurance to perform a root cause analysis to find and eliminate an error and to continually monitor for errors. A compilation of potential errors will be presented by examples of the thought process required to spot the error and determine the root cause. Examples may include unusual machine operation, erratic electrometer reading, consistent lower electron output, variation in photon output, body parts inadvertently left in beam, unusual treatment plan, poor normalization, hot spots etc. Awareness of the possibility and detection of error in any link of the treatment process chain will help improve the safe and accurate delivery of radiation to patients. Four experts will discuss how to identify errors in four areas of clinical treatment. D. Followill, NIH grant CA 180803
Clickable glutathione using tetrazine-alkene bioorthogonal chemistry for detecting protein glutathionylation

Protein glutathionylation is one of the major cysteine oxidative modifications in response to reactive oxygen species (ROS). We recently developed a clickable glutathione approach for detecting glutathionylation by using a glutathione synthetase mutant (GS M4) that synthesizes azido-glutathione (γGlu-Cys-azido-Ala) in situ in cells. In order to demonstrate the versatility of clickable glutathione and to increase the chemical tools for detecting glutathionylation, we sought to develop clickable glutathione that uses tetrazine-alkene bioorthogonal chemistry. Here we report two alkene-containing glycine surrogates (allyl-Gly and allyl-Ser) for the biosynthesis of clickable glutathione and their use for detection, enrichment, and identification of glutathionylated proteins. Our results provide chemical tools (allyl-Gly and allyl-Ser for GS M4) for versatile characterization of protein glutathionylation. In addition, we show that the active site of GS can be tuned to introduce a small size chemical tag on glutathione for exploring glutathione function in cells.
A randomized phase II trial comparing chemoimmunotherapy with or without bevacizumab in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

// Neil E. Kay 1 , Paolo Strati 1 , Betsy R. LaPlant 1 , Jose F. Leis 2 , Daniel Nikcevich 3 , Timothy G. Call 1 , Adam M. Pettinger 1 , Connie E. Lesnick 1 , Curtis A. Hanson 1 and Tait D. Shanafelt 1 1 Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA 2 Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Scottsdale, AZ, USA 3 Essentia Health’s East Region, Duluth, MN, USA Correspondence to: Neil E. Kay, email: // Keywords : CLL, chemoimmunotherapy, bevacizumab Received : October 15, 2016 Accepted : November 09, 2016 Published : November 16, 2016 Abstract Bevacizumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) with in vitro pro-apoptotic and antiangiogenic effects on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells. As monotherapy in patients with CLL, it has no clinical activity. Here we report the results of an open-label, randomized phase II trial comparing the combination of pentostatin, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (PCR) either without or with bevacizumab (PCR-B) in previously untreated CLL patients. A total of 65 evaluable patients were enrolled, 32 receiving PCR and 33 PCR-B. A higher rate of grade 3-4 cardiovascular toxicity was observed with PCR-B (33% vs . 3%, p < 0.003). Patients treated with PCR-B had a trend for a higher complete remission (CR) rate (54.5% vs 31.3%; p = 0.08), longer progression-free survival (PFS)( p = 0.06) and treatment-free survival (TFS)( p = 0.09). No differences in PFS and TFS by IGHV mutational status were observed with the addition of bevacizumab. A significant post-treatment increase in VEGF levels was observed in the PCR-B arm (29.77 to 57.05 pg/mL); in the PCR-B arm, lower baseline CCL-3 levels were significantly associated with achievement of CR ( p = 0.01). In conclusion, the addition of bevacizumab to chemoimmunotherapy in CLL is generally well-tolerated and appears to prolong PFS and TFS.
Mechanisms of Acquired Drug Resistance to the HDAC6 Selective Inhibitor Ricolinostat Reveals Rational Drug-Drug Combination with Ibrutinib

Purpose: Pan-class I/II histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors are effective treatments for select lymphomas. Isoform-selective HDAC inhibitors are emerging as potentially more targeted agents. ACY-1215 (ricolinostat) is a first-in-class selective HDAC6 inhibitor. To better understand the discrete function of HDAC6 and its role in lymphoma, we developed a lymphoma cell line resistant to ACY-1215.Experimental Design: The diffuse large B-cell lymphoma cell line OCI-Ly10 was exposed to increasing concentrations of ACY-1215 over an extended period of time, leading to the development of a resistant cell line. Gene expression profiling (GEP) was performed to investigate differentially expressed genes. Combination studies of ACY-1215 and ibrutinib were performed in cell lines, primary human lymphoma tissue, and a xenograft mouse model.Results: Systematic incremental increases in drug exposure led to the development of distinct resistant cell lines with IC50 values 10- to 20-fold greater than that for parental lines. GEP revealed upregulation of MAPK10, HELIOS, HDAC9, and FYN, as well as downregulation of SH3BP5 and LCK. Gene-set enrichment analysis (GSEA) revealed modulation of the BTK pathway. Ibrutinib was found to be synergistic with ACY-1215 in cell lines as well as in 3 primary patient samples of lymphoma. In vivo confirmation of antitumor synergy was demonstrated with a xenograft of DLBCL.Conclusions: The development of this ACY-1215-resistant cell line has provided valuable insights into the mechanistic role of HDAC6 in lymphoma and offered a novel method to identify rational synergistic drug combinations. Translation of these findings to the clinic is underway. Clin Cancer Res; 23(12); 3084-96. ©2016 AACR.
Nuclear Air Brayton Combined Cycle and Mark 1 Pebble Bed Fluoride-Salt-Cooled High-Temperature Reactor economic performance in a regulated electricity market

Abstract Understanding the financial performance of an engineered system is a key step to its commercialization. In this study, the economic performance of the Mk1 PB-FHR using a nuclear air combined cycle to produce base load nuclear power, and highly efficient peaking power with gas co-firing, was estimated for a regulated electricity market structure. Initially, a survey of major U.S. nuclear utility holding companies’ financials was performed to estimate a credible range of input parameters. In combination with the main cost parameters of the Mk1 estimated in a companion paper, a base case analysis was performed, demonstrating the economic attractiveness of the Mk1. A sensitivity study demonstrated that the main metrics of concern were electricity price, natural gas price, and the discount rate. These all pointed to possible ways to further reduce the Mk1’s investment risk, such as long term fuel contracts and improved construction management, in order to further increase the attractiveness of Mk1 deployment. Finally, a comparison between the Mk1 and two different natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) plants was made. The Mk1 performance lies in between a utility built and an independent power producer built NGCC. The Mk1 becomes a much more attractive investment than conventional NGCCs in markets where natural gas prices are high.
Dexmedetomidine use in pediatric intensive care and procedural sedation.

OBJECTIVE Dexmedetomidine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1999 for the sedation of adults receiving mechanical ventilation in an intensive care setting. It provides sedation with minimal effects on respiratory function and may be used prior to, during, and following extubation. Based on its efficacy in adults, dexmedetomidine is now being explored as an alternative or adjunct to benzodiazepines and opioids in the pediatric intensive care setting. This review describes the studies evaluating the safety and efficacy dexmedetomidine in infants and children and provides recommendations on dosing and monitoring. METHODS The MEDLINE (1950–November 2009) database was searched for pertinent abstracts, using the key term dexmedetomidine. Additional references were obtained from the bibliographies of the articles reviewed and the manufacturer. All available English-language case reports, clinical trials, retrospective studies, and review articles were evaluated. RESULTS Over two dozen case serie...
Culture moderates the effect of social support across communication contexts in young adult women in the United States

Abstract Objective Digital media is becoming integral to social communication, yet few studies have explored how documented cultural differences in social relationships transfer into digital contexts. The current study examined how cultural values moderate psychological and physiological responses to social support across media contexts among young-adult women from ethnically-diverse backgrounds. Method: Young adult ( N = 103; M age = 19.91, SD = 1.91) psychological and physiological stress response after face-to-face, computer-mediated, or no support conditions were examined among women from diverse cultural backgrounds (e.g., Asian American, African American, European American, Latino). Results: Participants who received computer-mediated (instant messenger) support before a stressful lab task reported less psychological stress afterward compared to those who did not receive support. Additionally, the effect of support context on physiological stress (change in cortisol, heart rate and systolic blood pressure) before and after the stress task was moderated by cultural differences. Conclusions: Independent, but not interdependent, self-construal moderates associations between support context and psychological or physiological measures. These results suggest that culture may influence how young adults benefit from social connection in new media contexts like on-line messaging.
The “Paradigms” of Learning

A number of prominent writers have suggested that in light of recent anomalous findings we greatly modify or abandon entirely the traditional “paradigms and laws” of learning. The data to which they refer are troublesome only to very simple-minded and literal interpretations of traditional paradigms, such as appear in typical textbook treatments. Current interpretations of the reinforcement paradigm can easily include such “anomalous” data. Once we recognize that reinforcers may never be considered independently of behaviors to be reinforced and conditions under which specific effects are viewed, these and other problems diminish in importance. As a means for advancing our understanding of behavior, the paradigms and laws of learning are better viewed as approximations, rather than as inviolate laws.
Tumor-promoting function of apoptotic caspases by an amplification loop involving ROS, macrophages and JNK in Drosophila.

Throughout the development and life of an animal, many of its cells die and are removed to make space for new tissues. A group of proteins called caspases play a key role in this cell death process. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy work as cancer treatments because they damage dividing cancer cells to such an extent that caspases are turned on and kill those cells. Unfortunately the tumor occasionally grows back after the treatment, partly because caspases also help to produce signals that boost the growth of any surviving cancer cells. Perez, Lindblad and Bergmann have now used the fruit fly Drosophila to investigate how caspases encourage tumor cells to grow and spread. The fruit flies all carried a mutation in a gene called Ras, which is often mutated in human cancers. Using a combination of genetic and biochemical experiments Perez, Lindblad and Bergmann found that mutant Ras prevents cells with active caspases from dying. Instead, the caspases redirect their activity and help cancer cells to produce small chemicals called reactive oxygen species. These chemicals can play many different roles in cancers, but in this setting they attract immune cells to the site of the tumor. The immune cells in turn send other signals back to the cancer cells, which further activate the caspases. Overall, this self-perpetuating signaling loop between the cancer cells and the surrounding immune cells helps the tumors to grow. Future work toward developing new cancer treatments will need to work on ways of enhancing the cell-killing properties of caspases while inhibiting their ability to help tumors to grow. Further experiments will also be needed to find out exactly how the mutant Ras gene protects tumor cells from death.
NOT YOUR TYPICAL PSEUDO-SEVERE AORTIC STENOSIS

Calcific aortic stenosis (AS) is the most common valve abnormality encountered in developing countries. In the majority of patients, stenosis severity is easily identified by a low valve area and high mean gradient. However, a subset of patients are found to have a low mean gradient despite a low
Lessons to be Drawn from U.S. Drug Control Policies

U.S. drug policy has sometimes implicitly — and incorrectly — assumed that all drug-related harm is caused by drug use, so reducing drug use necessarily reduces drug harm proportionately. Instead, drug policy should try to reduce the sum of both harms incident to drug consumption — including harms to users as well as harms to others — and policy-generated harm in the form of illicit markets, enforcement costs, and increased harmfulness of drug-taking due to controls. A strict prohibition can meet these criteria when it succeeds in keeping illicit markets “thin” and consumption very low. However, promulgating wise policies toward “thick” markets with widespread consumption necessarily involves trade-offs among competing objectives. Recent U.S. history illustrates both the futility of trying to control already “thick” markets using very long prison sentences for dealers (as in the cocaine market) and the risks of allowing “thin” markets to “thicken” by neglecting regulatory and enforcement efforts as prevalence starts to rise (as in the market for prescription opioids).
Deterministic Multivariate Evolution

The discussions of deterministic evolution in Chap. 7 were focused on the modeling of the evolution of one variable (as heat, mass, the position of any body, or a population density). The consideration of such relatively simple problems is helpful for a basic understanding of the structure and the range of applicability of equations for typical problems. However, only a narrow range of problems can be described in this way: the analysis of most real problems requires the consideration of the multivariate evolution of several variables. The latter is required, for example, regarding the interaction of biological species and motions of bodies or fluids in three-dimensional space. To deal with such cases we extend here the concepts used for the modeling of mechanical and population ecology processes in Chap. 7 to the modeling of the joint evolution of several variables. We will continue with the consideration of global properties that change in time but not in space, i.e., partial differential equations that describe the evolution of processes in space will be not considered. The mathematics of models for the evolution of such processes can be formulated in terms of linear and nonlinear systems of coupled ordinary differential equations.
Charlotte Riddell’s Financial Life and Fiction

This chapter discusses the most important financial novelist of the Victorian period, known in her time as the “novelist of the City” for works such as George Geith and Austin Friars. Yet, today Riddell remains one of the most forgotten of popular Victorian novelists. Henry provides new information about Riddell’s personal financial troubles—which may be traced back to her mother’s financial distress as a young woman in Liverpool—and the lawsuits in which Riddell was involved following the bankruptcy of her husband, a failed inventor and businessman in London. Riddell’s unique perspective on business ethics in her novels is a result of her own financial entanglements.
Coloniality of being and knowledge in the history of psychology

The emergence and growth of the psy-disciplines, accompanied by the psychologization of everyday life, has raised questions about the role of psychology in relation to power. Who does psychology serve? And what are its effects on the person? The author holds that psy-disciplines have largely been managerial in their effects, especially empowering the rise of the neoliberal state in the late 20th century. In the face of such managerialism, can there be a liberatory psychology? The efforts toward a psychology or psychologies of liberation have come primarily from the Global South, as in the work and writings of Paulo Freire and Ignacio Martin-Baro. The author links these efforts to the decolonial turn proffered by the ‘Modernity/Coloniality’ group led by such scholars as Walter Mignolo and Arturo Escobar. The essay then examines the scholarly discipline of history of psychology in the light of decoloniality and shows how it has been an agent of colonial being and knowledge. Alternatives are offered on how the field can break the legacy of coloniality and move toward a more liberatory stance.
Image Ecologies, Spiritual Polytropy, and the Anthropocene

This article advances a four-fold contribution to theorizing the relationship between images, religion, and the Anthropocene. First, it proposes a ‘process-semiotic’ definition of the image as a sensorially perceptible form that mediates agential relations both between humans and between humans and the larger world. Second, it argues for a conception of religion and of spirituality that sees the world as varying on a scale between the ‘polytropic’ and the ‘monotropic’, where ‘tropism’ refers to the ‘turning’ toward sources of sustenance, relief, hope, authority, and the like. This turning is commonly, if not universally, accomplished with the aid of images. Bringing these ideas together, it then advances a typology of ‘image regimes’, each of which establishes relationships between understandings of images and of reality, relationships which can be traced across diverse religious and cultural contexts. Finally, it proposes a set of questions by which to bring ecocritical analysis to expressions of these image regimes in the emerging ‘image-world’ of digital culture, a culture that is coterminous, if not causally linked with, the growing recognition of the Anthropocene. It ends with a brief application of these questions to the Anthropocene Project, an art exhibition, film, and book project by Edward Burtunsky, Jennifer Baichwal, and Nicholas De Pencier.
Diagnosing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The importance of differentiating asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.

PREVIEWIn patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a thorough understanding on the clinician's part of the pathophysiologic basis of airflow limitation greatly enhances decisions regarding care. Differences in prognosis among the major types of COPD have become clear, and identification of airway inflammation has dramatically altered medical therapy. Dr Martinez, who coordinated this symposium, here explains the importance of judiciously applying findings from history taking, physical examination, laboratory studies (particularly pulmonary function testing), and radiographic studies to all aspects of disease management. The remaining four symposium articles address specific avenues for treatment of emphysema and chronic bronchitis.
Headache Relief Is Maintained 7 Years After Anterior Cervical Spine Surgery: Post Hoc Analysis From a Multicenter Randomized Clinical Trial and Cervicogenic Headache Hypothesis

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether anterior cervical spine surgery offers sustained (7 years) relief in patients with cervicogenic headaches (CGHs), and evaluate the difference between cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) and anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for 1 and 2-level surgeries from a multicenter randomized clinical trial. METHODS A post hoc analysis was performed of 575 patients who underwent one or 2-level CDA or ACDF for symptomatic cervical spondylosis as part of a prospective randomized clinical trial. Assessment of pain and functional outcome was done with the Neck Disability Index (NDI) in the trial. We used the NDI headache component to assess headache outcome. RESULTS For both 1- and 2-level CDA and ACDF groups, there was significant headache improvement from preoperative baseline out to 7 years (p < 0.0001). For 1-level surgeries, headache improvement was similar for both groups at the 7-year point. For 2-level treatment, CDA patients had significantly improved headache scores versus ACDF patients at the 7-year point (p = 0.016). CONCLUSION The headache improvement noted at early follow-up was sustained over the long-term period with ACDF and CDA populations. In the case of 2-level operations, CDA patients demonstrated significantly greater benefit compared to ACDF patients over the long-term. Sinuvertebral nerve irritation at the unco-vasculo-radicular junction and anterior dura may be the cause of CGH. Therefore, it is possible that improved cervical kinematics and preservation of range of motion at adjacent uncovertebral joints in CDA may contribute to the observed difference between the groups.
Frailty predicts worse outcomes after intracranial meningioma surgery irrespective of existing prognostic factors.

Objective Frailty has been recognized as a predictor of adverse surgical outcomes across multiple surgical disciplines, but until now the relationship between frailty and intracranial meningioma surgery has not been studied. The goal of the present study was to determine the relationship between increasing frailty (determined using the modified Frailty Index [mFI]) and intracranial meningioma resection outcomes (including hospital length of stay [LOS], discharge location, and reoperation and readmission rates). Methods This is a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent intracranial meningioma resection between August 2012 and May 2018. Seventy-six patients met the inclusion criteria. Results Frailty was associated with increased hospital LOS (p = 0.0218), increased reoperation rate (p = 0.029), and discharge to a higher level of care: an inpatient rehabilitation facility or a skilled nursing facility (p = 0.0002). After multivariable analysis, frailty was determined to be an independent risk factor for increased LOS, worse discharge disposition, and subsequent readmission. Conclusions Frailty is an independent risk factor for worse outcomes following intracranial meningioma resection, including increased LOS, reoperations, and worse discharge disposition. Frailty may help stratify preoperative surgical risk, and thus may provide important clinical information to help neurosurgeons and elderly patients weigh the risks and benefits of resection.
Field inoculations of nitrogen fixing endophytes on turfgrass

Abstract Turfgrass is the number one irrigated crop in the United States. Lawn care regimes require high chemical fertilizer and water inputs. Endophytes, defined as microorganisms that live within plants, have the potential to decrease the high water and high fertilizer requirements of turfgrass. This study evaluated the inoculation of multiple mutualistic endophytes on a commonly planted turfgrass mix in field trials. Previous studies, in greenhouse and lab settings, found these same endophytes increase drought tolerance and grass greenness. Nine 3 ft by 3 ft turfgrass plots were inoculated with an endophyte consortium in the spring and fall of 2017. Inoculated plots were compared with non-inoculated controls for overall chlorophyll content, overall plot greenness, and mean total height accumulation. The results of the study indicated that there was no significant effect of endophyte inoculations on the turfgrass. Additionally, endophytes were extracted, cultured and sequenced from the plots two months post inoculation. The endophytes applied were not detected, indicating that they were unable to survive the entire growing season within the turfgrass. The current research will be one of the first studies to show that endophytes, inoculated onto a novel host, were unable to survive field conditions in a perennial crop and yield the benefits that were observed in vitro and in greenhouse trials. Future research should evaluate the success of these endophytes on other plant species in the field and in non-limiting environments and run a quantitative PCR experiment using isolate specific primers to determine endophyte survival over time in the field.
La incompatibilidad de las acciones frente a la prestación irrisoria según el Código de Comercio ecuatoriano

The new Commercial Code enshrines the prestacion irrisoria for the first time in our legal system. Its purpose is to ensure that the obligations that each contractual party acquires are symmetrical. Nonetheless, the Code offers three incompatible consequences should the contract have a prestacion irrisoria: absolute nullity, resolution and adapting the contract. For that reason, we propose that the adequate consequence for a prestacion irrisoria should be the relative nullity, since that solution is compatible with the adaptation of the contract.
Cerebral Blood Flow in Chronic Kidney Disease

The prevalence of mild cognitive impairment increases with age and is further exacerbated by chronic kidney disease (CKD). CKD is associated with (1) mild cognitive impairment, (2) impaired endothelial function, (3) impaired blood-brain barrier, (4) increased cerebral microhemorrhage burden, (5) increased cerebral blood flow (CBF), (6) impaired cerebral autoregulation, (7) impaired cerebrovascular reactivity, and (8) increased arterial stiffness. We report preliminary findings from our group that demonstrate altered cerebrovascular reactivity in a mouse model of CKD-associated vascular calcification. The CBF of CKD mice increased more quickly in response to hypercapnia (p < 0.05) but then decreased prematurely during hypercapnia challenge (p < 0.05). Together, these results indicate that altered kidney function can lead to alterations in the cerebral microvasculature, and hence brain health.
Evidence of association between obesity and lower cerebral myelin content in cognitively unimpaired adults

BACKGROUND Myelin loss is a central feature of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). In animal studies, a link has been established between obesity and impairment of oligodendrocyte maturation, the cells that produce and maintain myelin. Although clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have revealed microstructural alterations of cerebral white matter tissue in subjects with obesity, no specific myelin vs. obesity correlation studies have been performed in humans using a direct myelin content metric. OBJECTIVES To assess the association between obesity and myelin integrity in cerebral white matter using advanced MRI methodology for myelin content imaging. METHODS Studies were performed in the clinical unit of the National Institute on Aging on a cohort of 119 cognitively unimpaired adults. Using advanced MRI methodology, we measured whole-brain myelin water fraction (MWF), a marker of myelin content. Automated brain mapping algorithms and statistical models were used to evaluate the relationships between MWF and obesity, measured using the body mass index (BMI) or waist circumference (WC), in various white matter brain regions. RESULTS MWF was negatively associated with BMI or WC in all brain regions evaluated. These associations, adjusted for sex, ethnicity, and age, were statistically significant in most brain regions examined (p < 0.05), with higher BMI or WC corresponding to lower myelin content. Finally, in agreement with previous work, MWF exhibited a quadratic, inverted U-shaped, association with age; this is attributed to the process of myelination from youth through middle age, followed by demyelination afterward. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that obesity was significantly associated with white matter integrity, and in particular myelin content. We expect that this work will lay the foundation for further investigations to clarify the nature of myelin damage in neurodegeneration, including AD, and the effect of lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity on myelination.
Oscillatory Modules

Developing the ideas of Bressler and Soibelman and of Karabegov, we introduce a notion of an oscillatory module on a symplectic manifold which is a sheaf of modules over the sheaf of deformation quantization algebras with an additional structure. We compare the category of oscillatory modules on a torus to the Fukaya category as computed by Polishchuk and Zaslow.
Survival differences in acral lentiginous melanoma according to socioeconomic status and race.

Background Relationships of socioeconomic status (SES) and race to survival in acral lentiginous melanoma (ALM) are poorly characterized. Objective To compare disease-specific survival in ALM across SES and race. Methods Retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, 2000 to 2016. Results We identified 2245 patients with a first ALM diagnosis. Five-year disease-specific survival was 77.8% (95% CI, 75.9%-79.9%). After adjustment, patients in the lowest and second-to-lowest SES quintile had 1.33 (95% CI, 0.90-1.96) and 1.42 (95% CI, 1.03-1.97) times the risk of death, respectively, compared to highest quintile patients. Hispanic White and Black patients had 1.48 (95% CI, 1.10-1.99) and 1.25 (95% CI, 0.88-1.79) times the risk of death, respectively, compared to non-Hispanic Whites. Hazard ratios for ALM-specific death decreased in Hispanic White and Black patients after adjusting for SES and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage at diagnosis. Limitations Treatments could not be evaluated. SES was measured at the level of the census tract and does not account for individual level factors. Conclusion Differences exist in ALM survival according to socioeconomic status and race. Differences in SES and American Joint Committee on Cancer stage at diagnosis contribute to survival disparities for Hispanic White and Black patients. Understanding factors driving survival disparities related to SES and race may improve ALM outcomes.
The Role of Grain Boundary Modifications in the Thermal Decomposition of Mn-Ferrites

Manganese ferrite samples with and without minor (<1 Wt%) additions of SiO2 and CaCO3 quenched in air from the sintering temperature yielded a single spinel phase. Thermogravimetric analysis in a magnetic field was used to determine Curie temperatures of magnetic phases present. The Curie temperature provides an indication of differences in bulk composition and/or cation distribution between samples. Samples with and without minor additions were subjected to an anneal at temperatures up to 600°C in argon and air. There was little or no change in the Curie temperature for samples annealed in argon. However, samples without additions annealed in air showed a significant change in Curie temperature indicating decomposition of the spinel. This decomposition was suppressed by <1 Wt% SiO2 and CaCO3 additions indicating that the thermal stability of manganese ferrite is enhanced by the suppression of grain boundary diffusion by minor dopants concentrated at the grain boundaries.
Damage Assessment of Existing Structures

Important structures are frequently tested and inspected by structural engineers following the occurence of a hazardous event such as a strong-motion earthquake. Usually, voluminous data are obtained from such an inspection. While it is relatively simple to understand various experimental and analytical procedures in the investigation of any particular structure, the complex decision-making process summarizing the many results of such an investigation into a simple concluding statement remains privileged and specialized knowledge for highly qualified structural engineers. In this report, an attempt is made to explore the application of fuzzy sets as an alternative or supplementary approach or both, to assessing the damage state of existing structures. This proposed methodology can be used to incorporate the experience, intuition, and judgment of various experts, who may be willing to verbalize their valuable knowledge in advancing the state of the art of our profession.
Self-Punitive Behavior

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on self-defeating and self-punitive behavior that is paradoxical for psychological theory because it violates the article of faith that organisms should repeat those behaviors which result in positive outcome and avoid or relinquish those which result in negative outcomes. The experimental psychology is devoted to exploring the selective pressure of the consequences of one's actions on future behavior. Two-factor theory provided an explanation of how self-punitive behavior could exist, although the proposal is neither subjected to experimental analysis nor its generality to the clinical situation explored. The Mowrer–Brown contribution illustrates how the law of effect dominates psychological theory. By the law of effect, it enhances the behavior through reward, and the suppression of behavior through punishment without reference to the processes whereby the law operates.
Protection Relay Life-Cycle Management

This paper identifies the protection system lifecycle and the potential modes of failure. The stages of the protection relay lifecycle are then evaluated from a manufacturers' perspective. Dependent on the lifecycle phase, services and refurbishment strategies are identified, which maximise protection system asset value, thus minimising risk to the power system.
Recognition and Management of Cardiac Arrhythmias: Part II. Ventricular Arrhythmias and Bradyarrhythmias

This review discusses the treatment of ventricular arrhythmias and bradyarrhythmias. Recent studies addressing the management of nonsustained ventricular arrhythmias in patients with congestive heart failure and those recovering from myocardial infarction are discussed. Determination of the origin of wide QRS complex tachycardia is usually possible at the bedside and the diagnostic criteria are provided. Therapy to prevent recurrent ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation is difficult and controversial. A widely accepted approach based on electrophysiologic testing and implantable defibrillators appears to be the most effective. Recognition and management of common bradyarrhythmias including the indications for pacemakers are discussed.
Targeting Rules with Intrinsic Persistence and Endogenous Policy Inertia

We investigate the optimality of monetary policy targeting rules in a macroeconomic model based on explicit micro-foundations for intrinsic persistence in inflation and real output. For the corresponding social welfare loss function to be minimized by the central bank, inertia arises endogenously in both the inflation and output gap stabilization objectives. In this framework, inflation targeting closely approximates the optimal precommitment policy for empirically relevant parameter values. Alternative policy rules, such as nominal income growth targeting, “speed-limit” targeting, or price level targeting, do not performas well. Previous research has demonstrated lower social welfare losses with these alternative targeting rules; such findings are shown to be primarily a consequence of assuming the central bank minimizes a simple social loss function that is not consistent with the micro-foundations of a model with intrinsic persistence.
Philadelphia chromosome - Negative chronic myelogenous leukemia without breakpoint cluster region rearrangement: A chronic myeloid leukemia with a distinct clinical course

The hallmarks of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) include the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) translocation [t (9;22)(q34;q11)] and consistent molecular genetic aberrations: a break within a restricted 5.8 kb DNA segment, bcr, on chromosome 22q11; transposition of the c-abl protooncogene from chromosome 9q34 to 22q11; and formation of a hybrid bar-abl gene encoding an abnormal 210 Kd bcr-abl protein with augmented tyrosine kinase enzymatic activity. These molecular phenomena may occur even in the absence of cytogenetic evidence of the Ph translocation. They are highly specific and sensitive markers for CML, and are presumed to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of this malignancy. Surprisingly, we have encountered 11 patients who lacked the Ph translocation, bcr rearrangement, and (in the four patients with available mRNA) a bcr-abl message, and yet had a disease phenotype at diagnosis that was a morphologic facsimile of classic chronic phase CML. These patients presented with high white blood cell counts, neutrophilia, occasional basophilia, splenomegaly, and a hypercellular bone marrow with granulocytic hyperplasia and a left shift in myeloid maturation. Despite the striking resemblance between the early stages of bcr-negative and bcr-positive CML, disease progression manifests distinctly in these two disorders. In contrast to the blastic transformation that inevitably complicates bcr-positive CML, the natural history of our 11 Ph-negative, bcr-negative CML patients was characterized by increasing leukemia burden with leukocytosis, pronounced organomegaly, extramedullary infiltrates, and eventual bone marrow failure (anemia and thrombocytopenia) without marked increases in blast cells. Our current observations suggest that a chronic myeloid leukemia process can develop without associated changes in the bcr or c-abl genes. Although the initial phase of this disease is indistinguishable from CML, the presence or absence of molecular markers may aid in the prediction of the clinical course of Ph-negative CML.
Radiocarbon Evidence for the Importance of Surface Vegetation on Fermentation and Methanogenesis in Contrasting Types of Boreal Peatlands

[1] We found a consistent distribution pattern for radiocarbon in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and methane replicated across spatial and temporal scales in northern peatlands from Minnesota to Alaska. The 14C content of DOC is relatively modern throughout the peat column, to depths of 3 m. In sedge-dominated peatlands, the 14C contents of the products of respiration, CH4 and DIC, are essentially the same and are similar to that of DOC. In Sphagnum- and woody plant–dominated peatlands with few sedges, however, the respiration products are similar but intermediate between the 14C contents of the solid phase peat and the DOC. Preliminary data indicates qualitative differences in the pore water DOC, depending on the extent of sedge cover, consistent with the hypothesis that the DOC in sedge-dominated peatlands is more reactive than DOC in peatlands where Sphagnum or other vascular plants dominate. These data are supported by molecular level analysis of DOC by ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry that suggests more dramatic changes with depth in the composition of DOC in the sedge-dominated peatland pore waters relative to changes observed in DOC where Sphagnum dominates. The higher reactivity of DOC from sedge-dominated peatlands may be a function of either different source materials or environmental factors that are related to the abundance of sedges in peatlands.