cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can We Identify Futility in Kids? An Evaluation of Admission Parameters Predicting 100% Mortality in 1,292 Severely Injured Children.

Background Objective parameters predicting futility of care in severely injured pediatric patients are lacking. Although futility of care has been investigated in a limited number of studies in trauma patients, none of these studies achieves a 100% success rate in a large cohort of pediatric patients. The purpose of the current study was to identify extreme laboratory values that could be used to predict 100% mortality in severely injured children. Study Design We evaluated a registry-based, historical cohort of all severely injured children (Level I trauma, younger than 16 years old) who were not dead on arrival between January 2010 and December 2016 from a single Level I trauma center. Extreme arrival laboratory data were evaluated both alone and in conjunction with traumatic brain injury. Results There were 1,292 patients who met inclusion criteria, of which 1,169 (90.5%) survived and 123 (9.5%) died. Those who died were significantly younger, with higher head Abbreviated Injury Scale scores and overall Injury Severity Scores. Single extreme laboratory values were identified that predicted mortality perfectly (100% positive predictive value): international normalized ratio ≥3.0, pH ≤6.95, base excess ≤ -22, platelet count ≤30,000, hemoglobin ≤5.0 g/dL, rapid thromboelastography ≤30 mm, and rapid thromboelastography lysis at 30 minutes ≥50%. When 2 laboratory values or the presence of traumatic brain injury were added, lower thresholds for futility were noted. Conclusions Extreme admission laboratory values are capable of predicting 100% mortality and futility of additional care in severely injured children with a high level of accuracy. Validation of these single-center findings is warranted and, if supported, should initiate a discussion within the pediatric trauma community about application and cessation of resuscitation efforts to optimize resource use.
When Are Endovascular and Open Bypass Treatments Preferred for Femoropopliteal Occlusive Disease

Several meta-analyses and multicenter trials have shown that chronic limb ischemia did not occur for up to 5 years in 50%-70% of patients who underwent saphenous vein grafts, with limb salvage and perioperative mortality rates of >80% and 3%, respectively. However, open surgical bypass can have limitations, including postoperative morbidity/wound complications of 10%-20% and prolonged length of hospital stay and outpatient care. Several studies have analyzed clinical outcomes for patients with critical limb ischemia treated with endovascular therapies, but they have been mainly retrospective with significant heterogeneity or were single center. Only few randomized trials have compared surgical vs. endovascular therapy. These included the Bypass vs. Angioplasty in Severe Ischemia of the Leg (BASIL) trial, with no differences found in amputation-free or overall survival rates at 1 year; however, late outcomes favored the surgical group. The Bypass or Angioplasty in Severe Intermittent Claudication (BASIC) trial concluded that the 1-year patency rates were 82% and 43% for bypass and angioplasty, respectively. The BEST Endovascular vs. Best Surgical Therapy in Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia (BEST-CLI) trial is currently enrolling patients. This review analyzed studies comparing open vs. endovascular therapy in patients with femoropopliteal disease. (This is a review article based on the invited lecture of the 45th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society for Vascular Surgery.).
The application of acoustic particle velocity sensors to airborne infrasonic signals

Infrasound arrays, because of the wavelengths involved and the necessity for minimal spatial aliasing, can be quite large, e.g. an array layout often used for beamforming for frequencies up to 10 Hz is a centered, 17-m radius equilateral triangle. Available real estate is often limited such that optimally sized arrays are not possible. An acoustic particle velocity sensor, in principle, can perform the same job as a large infrasound array, but in a much smaller package (less than the size of a single infrasound sensor) since it provides, in post processing, a direct measurement of the wavefront normal. However, localized meteorological perturbations to the wavefront normal could cause significant bearing estimate errors when using a particle velocity sensor. Recently, as part of the characterization of a mobile infrasound source and during the collection of sounds from space station resupply rockets, acoustic particle velocity sensors were positioned next to infrasound sensors in order to test the concept of using these sensors for accurate pointing at infrasound frequencies. Results from these experiments will be discussed.Infrasound arrays, because of the wavelengths involved and the necessity for minimal spatial aliasing, can be quite large, e.g. an array layout often used for beamforming for frequencies up to 10 Hz is a centered, 17-m radius equilateral triangle. Available real estate is often limited such that optimally sized arrays are not possible. An acoustic particle velocity sensor, in principle, can perform the same job as a large infrasound array, but in a much smaller package (less than the size of a single infrasound sensor) since it provides, in post processing, a direct measurement of the wavefront normal. However, localized meteorological perturbations to the wavefront normal could cause significant bearing estimate errors when using a particle velocity sensor. Recently, as part of the characterization of a mobile infrasound source and during the collection of sounds from space station resupply rockets, acoustic particle velocity sensors were positioned next to infrasound sensors in order to test the concept...
Microbial communities in soil profile are more responsive to legacy effects of wheat-cover crop rotations than tillage systems.

Abstract Declining trends in soil health under continuous monoculture systems of winter wheat are a concern for sustainable production in the Southern Great Plains of the US. This study was conducted to evaluate the long-term implementation of conservation tillage in combination with nitrogen treatments and summer cover crop (cowpeas) rotations with winter wheat, for their legacy effects on soil health attributes of microbial communities and soil organic carbon (SOC). Microbial biomass and composition were estimated, along with soil physico-chemical parameters in the soil profile during the annual rotation cycle of wheat and cover crops. Positive legacy effects of cover crop rotations were evident, as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) biomass during the wheat-growing season was significantly higher in cover crop treatments (by around 30-70%) compared to summer fallow treatment. Some dominant taxons such as Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria (>70% of prokaryotic relative abundance) and Ascomycota (>50% of fungal relative abundance) were detected in all experimental treatments. Microbial composition did not significantly change at phylum level, although some reorganization at OTU level was evident throughout the soil profile, mostly because of nitrogen treatments. Several Glomeromycota OTUs were significantly altered by soil depth and by nitrogen fertilization suggest distinct mycorhizosphere interactions in subsurface soil than the surface soil. Tillage treatment did not significantly alter the microbial abundance and their diversity. Differences in microbial biomass-C concentration among experimental treatments did not result in a change in SOC concentrations within the soil profile. Results of this study demonstrated that summer cowpea appeared to be an effective cover crop for enhancing beneficial microbial biomass and expansion of the mycorrhizosphere to deeper soil layers. Cover crop rotations appeared to be a suitable option for rapidly enhancing soil health in winter wheat production systems.
Evaluating Adaptation of a Cancer Clinical Trial Decision Aid for Rural Cancer Patients: A Mixed-Methods Approach.

Rural-residing cancer patients often do not participate in clinical trials. Many patients misunderstand cancer clinical trials and their rights as participant. The purpose of this study is to modify a previously developed cancer clinical trials decision aid (DA), incorporating the unique needs of rural populations, and test its impact on knowledge and decision outcomes. The study was conducted in two phases. Phase I recruited 15 rural-residing cancer survivors in a qualitative usability study. Participants navigated the original DA and provided feedback regarding usability and implementation in rural settings. Phase II recruited 31 newly diagnosed rural-residing cancer patients. Patients completed a survey before and after using the revised DA, R-CHOICES. Primary outcomes included decisional conflict, decision self-efficacy, knowledge, communication self-efficacy, and attitudes towards and willingness to consider joining a trial. In phase I, the DA was viewed positively by rural-residing cancer survivors. Participants provided important feedback about factors rural-residing patients consider when thinking about trial participation. In phase II, after using R-CHOICES, participants had higher certainty about their choice (mean post-test = 3.10 vs. pre-test = 2.67; P = 0.025) and higher trial knowledge (mean percentage correct at post-test = 73.58 vs. pre-test = 57.77; P < 0.001). There was no significant change in decision self-efficacy, communication self-efficacy, and attitudes towards or willingness to join trials. The R-CHOICES improved rural-residing patients’ knowledge of cancer clinical trials and reduced conflict about making a trial decision. More research is needed on ways to further support decisions about trial participation among this population.
Induction of photoperiod sensitive genetic male steriles for use in hybrid rice seed production

The most notable photoperiod sensitive genetic male sterile in rice is the Nongken 58S line in China. Two sources of environmentally sensitive genetic male sterile mutants were found in California. The photoperiod-sensitive genetic male steriles (PGMS) have the potential for reducing hybrid rice breeding from the present 3-line system to a 2-line system. The long-range objectives of the present project were to induce an array of genetic male steriles in rice, and then to evaluate these at different day lengths in order to find steriles that become fertile in selected environments. Three genetic male steriles were selected from gamma irradiation of southern US cultivars. Inheritance of these mutants was studied through progeny tests in M5 to M7 generations and through fertility characterization of pollen and spikelets. Seed set on steriles under open pollination ranged from a low of 8.1% for Cypress 1819 to a high of 32.9% for Kaybonnet 1789.
Glutamatergic Modulators for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder: Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors

The majority of antidepressants facilitate monoamine neurotransmission within the central nervous system as their initial neurochemical processing event. These medicines do not fully serve patient needs in terms of response or remission, and suffer from some compliance issues. Among the various approaches that are being taken to discover improved therapeutics for major depressive disorders has been the targeting of the metabotropic glutamate receptors. Three major classes of mGlu receptors with a total of eight subtypes (mGlu1–8) have been considered. The bulk of data at present provides compelling evidence that mGlu5 and mGlu2/3 receptors are principal protein targets for drug discovery. These mGlu receptors have localization within primary mood circuits and are modulated by antidepressant treatment. Moreover, pharmacological blockade of mGlu5 (with MPEP, MTEP) or mGlu2/3 (with LY341495, MGS0039) receptors is associated with antidepressant-like biochemical and neurochemical changes in the mammalian brain. Small molecules that target these sites have been identified that display corresponding antidepressant-like behavioral effects. Agonist actions at mGlu2/3 receptors, demonstrated to possess anxiolytic activity in humans, might also be capable of impacting the progression of disease symptoms. Importantly, modulation of the mGlu5 and mGlu2/3 receptors impact ionotropic glutamate receptor signaling (NMDA, AMPA) that independently has been associated with mood disorders. The lack of biochemical and behavioral evidence linking other mGlu receptors to mood disorders is generally due to the absence of an appropriate arsenal of tools (e.g., selective, systemically-available compounds). However, there are data suggesting that mGlu1, mGlu7, and mGlu8 receptors might also play important roles in controlling mood. In contrast, mGlu6 receptors, with localization principally confined to retinal cells, are not likely candidate proteins. The patent and scientific literature suggests that the evaluation of these hypotheses in the clinic might be possible in the near future. With these awaited studies is the hope for new medicines for the devastating and life-threatening diseases of mood that affect large segments of the world community.
Intravenous administration of human umbilical cord blood reduces neurological deficit in the rat after traumatic brain injury.

We measured the effect of treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the rat with human umbilical cord blood (HUCB) administered i.v.. HUCB cells were injected into the tail vein 24 h after TBI and the rats were sacrificed at day 28 after the treatment. The Rotarod test and the neurological severity score (NSS) were used to evaluate neurological function. The distribution of the donor cells in the brain, heart, lung, kidney, liver, spleen, bone marrow, and muscle were analyzed in recipient rats using immunohistochemical staining and laser confocal microscopy. HUCB cells injected i.v. significantly reduced motor and neurological deficits compared with control groups by day 28 after the treatment. The cells preferentially entered the brain and migrated into the parenchyma of the injured brain and expressed the neuronal markers, NeuN and MAP-2, and the astrocytic marker, GFAP. Some HUCB cells integrated into the vascular walls within the boundary zone of the injured area. Our data suggest that i.v. administration of HUCB may be useful in the treatment of TBI.
Factors associated with intravenous lidocaine in pediatric patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy – a retrospective, single-centre experience

Due to its potential beneficial effects, intra- and postoperative application of intravenous lidocaine has become increasingly accepted over the last couple of years, e.g. in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgical procedures. Based on its beneficial properties, lidocaine was introduced to the standard of care for all pediatric laparoscopic procedures in our institution in mid-2016. In contrast to adult care, scarce data is available regarding the use of perioperative intravenous lidocaine administration in children undergoing laparoscopic procedures, such as an appendectomy. Retrospective analysis of all pediatric patients undergoing laparoscopic appendectomy at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich in 2016. Perioperative data, as recorded in the electronic patient data management system, were evaluated for any signs of systemic lidocaine toxicity (neurological and cardiovascular), behavioral deterioration, as well as for hemodynamic instability. Additionally, the incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, administration of pain rescue medication, time to hospital discharge and to first bowel movement, as well as any postoperative complications were recorded. Starting on 01/07/2016, all patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery received intravenous lidocaine (1.5 mg/kg body weight (BW) bolus after induction of anesthesia followed by continuous infusion of 1.5 mg/kgBW/h). These patients were then compared to children without lidocaine administration who had undergone laparoscopic appendectomy between 01/01/2016 and 30/06/2016. Data of 116 patients was analyzed. Of these, 60 patients received lidocaine. No signs of systemic toxicity, neurologic impairment or circulatory disturbances were noted in any of these patients. A (non-significant) difference in the incidence of emergence delirium was observed (0 cases in the lidocaine group vs. 4 cases in the control group, p = 0.05). This retrospective analysis did not reveal any adverse effects in pediatric patients receiving intravenous lidocaine for laparoscopic appendectomy under general anesthesia. However, further trials investigating beneficial effects as well as pharmacokinetic properties of intravenous lidocaine in children are required.
Community-Campus Collaborations for Food Justice: Strategy, Successes and Challenges at a Teaching-Focused College

Community-campus engagement in higher edu­cation provides educational experiences for students to grapple with complex, real-world problems, including the lack of equitable access to healthy food for all. In this reflective essay, three faculty members of a teaching-focused college report and reflect on the benefits and challenges of community-campus engagement through a food justice education action research project called Food Dignity, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Achievements included developing a curricular approach, preparing students for com­munity partnerships and community-based research, strengthening institutional commitment to community-campus engagement, and establish­ing community and institutional networks. Out­comes include that student participants revised their values and attitudes about the food system and their ability to change it. We discuss challenges, including academic supremacy and unequal power relations, and offer recommendations for future community-campus food justice initiatives.
A Study on Parallax Error in Video Analysis

The use of video analysis for the study of motion and forces is well established in the worlds of physics and biomechanics. The issue of parallax error, sometimes referred to as perspective error or scaling error, when videotaping a moving object is known, and the experimenter is often counseled to be “far away.” However, “far away” is not often defined and sometimes experiments have limitations on the distances between camera, object, and scale. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to look into how far away is far enough. Our paper is not meant to be an exhaustive look at errors in video analysis; rather, we hope it may find use as a simple guideline when setting up your own video analysis experiments. We approach the error from parallax in two ways, first as a relative error within the data, and second via an appendix, as a correction factor based on experimental setup. We offer this work as a guide and perhaps a rule of thumb for those using video analysis as a tool in their research or their classroom. We also suggest this experiment as a possible entry point to the topic of experimental errors.
Scope & Justification of the Right of Publicity

These transcribed symposium comments discuss various normative justifications for the right of publicity, including copyright-like incentive theories, trademark-like false endorsement theories, and theories resting on the moral claims of labor. I discuss how each of these theories is a poor fit for at least some and perhaps most right of publicity cases, particularly insofar as rights of publicity and rights of privacy have been lumped together but their respective justifications are not compatible. I further argue that such normative justifications founder when it becomes necessary to consider the proportionality of a right-of-publicity plaintiff's interest to legitimate interests of their defendants. Finally, I propose that the way to avoid these challenges of justification is to seek alternative accounts of publicity and privacy claims, with publicity claims grounded in values pertaining to the relationship between people and their labor, and privacy claims grounded in our sense of what we have a right to expect of one another as human beings as a matter of reciprocal social obligations.
Cellular and molecular basis of liver regeneration

Recent advances in genetics and genomics have reinvigorated the field of liver regeneration. It is now possible to combine lineage-tracing with genome-wide studies to genetically mark individual liver cells and their progenies and detect precise changes in their genome, transcriptome, and proteome under normal versus regenerative settings. The recent use of single-cell RNA sequencing methodologies in model organisms has, in some ways, transformed our understanding of the cellular and molecular biology of liver regeneration. Here, we review the latest strides in our knowledge of general principles that coordinate regeneration of the liver and reflect on some conflicting evidence and controversies surrounding this topic. We consider the prominent mechanisms that stimulate homeostasis-related vis-a-vis injury-driven regenerative responses, highlight the likely cellular sources/depots that reconstitute the liver following various injuries and discuss the extrinsic and intrinsic signals that direct liver cells to proliferate, de-differentiate, or trans-differentiate while the tissue recovers from acute or chronic damage.
Influence on the Structural and Magnetic Properties of the Pre-alloyed Gas-Atomized Maraging Steel Powder During Mechanical Milling

We investigated the influence on the structural and magnetic properties of gas-atomized maraging steel powder during mechanical milling. The as-received powder comprised, primarily, martensite phase (α) and traces of retained austenite (γ); the saturation magnetization (MS) and intrinsic coercivity (HCI), at 300 K, were ~176 Am2/kg and ~3 kA/m, respectively. Powders milled from 3 to 8 h comprised nanocrystalline α; the MS and HCI ranged from ~164 to 169 Am2/kg and ~4.9 to 6.7 kA/m, respectively. Milling above 8 h formed austenite and extraneous intermetallic phases, reduced MS, and increased HCI. The MS increased with the decrease in the temperature from 300 to 60 K, for both the as-received and milled powders. The thermomagnetic behavior of the as-received and the milled powders from 300 to 900 K was fairly reversible. The magnetic properties of as-received and powder milled for 5 h were comparatively better than the powder milled for 56 h.
Cap-Snatching Leads to Novel Viral Proteins.

Some negative-sense RNA viruses prime mRNA transcription using host 5′ cap sequences, usurping host translational machinery and evading antiviral surveillance. In this issue of Cell, Ho et al. identify an additional consequence of this viral strategy: the acquisition of upstream start codons from host-derived sequences and subsequent translation of novel viral products.
Xylem systems genetics analysis reveals a key regulator of lignin biosynthesis in Populus deltoides

Despite the growing resources and tools for high-throughput characterization and analysis of genomic information, the discovery of the genetic elements that regulate complex traits remains a challenge. Systems genetics is an emerging field that aims to understand the flow of biological information that underlies complex traits from genotype to phenotype. In this study, we used a systems genetics approach to identify and evaluate regulators of the lignin biosynthesis pathway in Populus deltoides by combining genome, transcriptome, and phenotype data from a population of 268 unrelated individuals of P. deltoides The discovery of lignin regulators began with the quantitative genetic analysis of the xylem transcriptome and resulted in the detection of 6706 and 4628 significant local- and distant-eQTL associations, respectively. Among the locally regulated genes, we identified the R2R3-MYB transcription factor MYB125 (Potri.003G114100) as a putative trans-regulator of the majority of genes in the lignin biosynthesis pathway. The expression of MYB125 in a diverse population positively correlated with lignin content. Furthermore, overexpression of MYB125 in transgenic poplar resulted in increased lignin content, as well as altered expression of genes in the lignin biosynthesis pathway. Altogether, our findings indicate that MYB125 is involved in the control of a transcriptional coexpression network of lignin biosynthesis genes during secondary cell wall formation in P. deltoides.
Mitochondrial DNA haplogroups and risk of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder in European Americans

Although mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathophysiology of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder ADHD, the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has not been extensively investigated. To determine whether mtDNA haplogroups influence risk of ADHD, we performed a case-control study comprising 2076 ADHD cases and 5078 healthy controls, all of whom were European decedents recruited from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Associations between eight major European mtDNA Haplogroups and ADHD risk were assessed in three independent European cohorts. Meta-analysis of the three studies indicated that mtDNA haplogroups K (odds ratio = 0.69, P = 2.24 × 10−4, Pcorrected = 1.79 × 10−3) and U (odds ratio = 0.77, P = 8.88 × 10−4, Pcorrected = 7.11 × 10−3) were significantly associated with reduced risk of ADHD. In contrast, haplogroup HHV* (odds ratio = 1.18, P = 2.32 × 10−3, Pcorrected = 0.019) was significantly associated with increased risk of ADHD. Our results provide novel insight into the genetic basis of ADHD, implicating mitochondrial mechanisms in the pathophysiology of this relatively common psychiatric disorder.
Abstract LT008: Mapping the evolution of T cell states during response and resistance to adoptive cellular therapy

Immune therapies have transformed the cancer therapeutic landscape but fail to benefit most patients. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which T cells mediate elimination of leukemia, we generated a high-resolution map of longitudinal T cell dynamics within the same tumor microenvironment (TME; bone marrow) during response or resistance to donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), a widely used immunotherapy for relapsed leukemia. We analyzed 87,939 bone marrow-derived single T cell transcriptomes, along with chromatin accessibility and single T cell receptor clonality profiles, by developing novel machine learning tools for integrating longitudinal and multimodal data. We found that pre-treatment enrichment and post-treatment rapid, durable expansion of ‘terminal’ (TEX) and ‘precursor’ (TPEX) exhausted subsets, respectively, defined DLI response. In contrast to the common, shared pathways marking DLI response, a heterogeneous pattern of T cell dysfunction marked DLI resistance. Unexpectedly, TPEX cells that expanded in responders did not arise from the infusion product but instead from both pre-existing and novel clonotypes recruited to the TME. Further, we introduce a Bayesian method, Symphony, to define the T cell regulatory circuitry and master regulators underlying TEX and TPEX subsets that may be broadly relevant to other exhaustion antagonists across cancers. In conclusion, our data implicate the hierarchy of both TEX and TPEX subsets for immunotherapeutic responses in leukemia, extending the scope of their relevance beyond checkpoint blockade to adoptive cellular therapy. Moreover, our results provocatively suggest that immunologic ‘help’ from DLI, rather than direct transfer of anti-leukemic T cells, drove leukemic remission. Finally, we provide a general analysis paradigm for exploiting temporal single-cell genomic profiling for deep understanding of how immune therapies differentially shape the evolutionary trajectories of the TME in accordance with clinical outcome. Citation Format: Pavan Bachireddy, Elham Azizi, Cassandra Burdziak, Vinhkhang Nguyen, Christina Ennis, Zi- Ning Choo, Shuqiang Li, Kenneth Livak, Donna Neuberg, Robert Soiffer, Jerome Ritz, Edwin Alyea, Dana Pe9er, Catherine Wu. Mapping the evolution of T cell states during response and resistance to adoptive cellular therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on the Evolving Tumor Microenvironment in Cancer Progression: Mechanisms and Emerging Therapeutic Opportunities; in association with the Tumor Microenvironment (TME) Working Group; 2021 Jan 11-12. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(5 Suppl):Abstract nr LT008.
Distress Tolerance as a Mechanism Linking Violence Exposure to Problematic Alcohol use in Adolescence.

Adolescents exposed to violence are at elevated risk of developing most forms of psychopathology, including depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse. Prior research has identified emotional reactivity and difficulties with emotion regulation as core mechanisms linking violence exposure with psychopathology. Scant research has examined behavioral responses to distress as a mechanism in this association. This study examined the association of violence exposure with distress tolerance—the ability to persist in the face of distress—and whether lower distress tolerance linked violence exposure with subsequent increases in depression, anxiety, and alcohol abuse problems during adolescence. Data were collected prospectively in a sample of 287 adolescents aged 16–17 (44.3% male; 40.8% White). At Time 1, participants provided self-report of demographics, violence exposure, and psychopathology, and completed a behavioral measure of distress tolerance, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task. Four months later, participants (n = 237) repeated the psychopathology assessments. Violence exposure was associated with lower distress tolerance (β = -.21 p = .009), and elevated concurrent psychopathology (β = .16-.45, p = .001-.004). Low distress tolerance was prospectively associated with greater likelihood of abusing alcohol over time (OR = .63, p = .021), and mediated the association between violence exposure and greater levels (β = .02, 95% CI [.001, .063]) and likelihood (OR = .03, 95% CI [.006, .065]) of alcohol use over time. In contrast, low distress tolerance was not associated concurrently or prospectively with internalizing symptoms. Results persisted after controlling for socio-economic status. Findings suggest that distress tolerance is shaped by early experiences of threat and plays a role in the association between violence exposure and development of problematic alcohol use in adolescence.
Cytokine Levels in Human Vitreous in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

In this study, we compare the vitreous cytokine profile in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) to that of patients without PDR. The identification of novel cytokines involved in the pathogenesis of PDR provides candidate therapeutic targets that may stand alone or work synergistically with current therapies in the management of diabetic retinopathy. Undiluted vitreous humor specimens were collected from 74 patients undergoing vitrectomy for various vitreoretinal disorders. Quantitative immunoassay was performed for a panel of 36 neuroinflammatory cytokines in each specimen and assessed to identify differences between PDR (n = 35) and non-PDR (n = 39) patients. Levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-15, IL-16, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), VEGF-D, c-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid-A (SAA), and intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1) were significantly increased in the vitreous of PDR patients compared to non-PDR patients (p < 0.05). We report novel increases in IL-15 and IL-16, in addition to the expected VEGF, in the human vitreous humor of patients with PDR. Additionally, we confirm the elevation of ICAM-1, VCAM-1, SAA, IL-8 and CRP in the vitreous of patients with PDR, which has previously been described.
Distributed safe planning for satisfying minimal temporal relaxations of TWTL specifications

Abstract We investigate a multi-agent planning problem, where each agent aims to achieve an individual task while avoiding collisions with other agents. Each agent’s task is expressed as a Time-Window Temporal Logic (TWTL) specification defined over a discretized environment. We propose a distributed receding horizon algorithm for online planning of agent trajectories. We show that under mild assumptions on the environment, the resulting trajectories are always safe (collision-free) and lead to the satisfaction of the TWTL specifications or a finite temporal relaxation. Accordingly, each agent is guaranteed to safely achieve its task, possibly with some minimal finite delay. Performance of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated via numerical simulations and experiments with quadrotors.
Inferring relevant tissues and cell types for complex traits in genome-wide association studies

More than a decade of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified genetic risk variants that are significantly associated with complex traits. Emerging evidence suggests that the function of trait-associated variants likely acts in a tissue- or cell-type-specific fashion. Yet, it remains challenging to prioritize trait-relevant tissues or cell types to elucidate disease etiology. Here, we present EPIC (cEll tyPe enrIChment), a statistical framework that relates large-scale GWAS summary statistics to cell-type-specific omics measurements from single-cell sequencing. We derive powerful gene-level test statistics for common and rare variants, separately and jointly, and adopt generalized least squares to prioritize trait-relevant tissues or cell types while accounting for the correlation structures both within and between genes. Using enrichment of loci associated with four lipid traits in the liver and enrichment of loci associated with three neurological disorders in the brain as ground truths, we show that EPIC outperforms existing methods. We extend our framework to single-cell transcriptomic data and identify cell types underlying type 2 diabetes and schizophrenia. The enrichment is replicated using independent GWAS and single-cell datasets and further validated using PubMed search and existing bulk case-control testing results.
Heterosexual Self-Presentation, Identity Management, and Sexual Functioning Among Men Who Have Sex with Men.

Research and clinical work on sexual functioning in men has traditionally focused on the presence or absence of erectile dysfunction (ED) or the inability to maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. However, for men who have sex with men (MSM), receptive anal intercourse is a common form of sexual expression. Existing work on men’s sexual dysfunction does not effectively address receptive anal sex functioning, and there is a need to understand how stressors can impact this common sexual behavior. The goal of the present study was to understand how stressors can impact erective and receptive anal sex functioning among MSM. In the present study, we hypothesized that minority stress (as operationalized by integrating identity management and heterosexual self-presentation) would have an impact on MSM’s sexual functioning overall and adapted a previous measure of sexual dysfunction (International Index of Erectile Functioning) to better assess this relationship. Data were collected from 228 men (Mage = 31.74, SD = 9.41); exploratory factor analysis was used to create a new measure of sexual functioning, and regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between heterosexual self-presentation and identity management and sexual functioning. Results demonstrated that higher heterosexual self-presentation was associated with more functional impairment in erectile function and receptive anal sex functioning as well as use of functional enhancement medications or substances. The results of the present study extend extant work on minority stress to sexual functioning of MSM and are relevant to the sexual health concerns of MSM.
Digital Currencies and Central Banks

Whether a novel tool for monetary policy or simply a new factor in domestic and global markets, digital currencies present Central Banks with opportunities and challenges that are not well understood. This chapter begins with a contextual discussion of the declining use of physical currency, highlighting important distinctions between digitized currency, digital currency, and distributed ledger technology, followed by a taxonomy of the six different digital currency types. The remainder of the chapter examines opportunities and challenges topically. Some, such as privacy and anonymity concerns or trade-offs between centralized and decentralized issuances, exist for all digital currency types. Others are more immediately relevant to Central Banks, such a competition between monies, programmable money, and the impact of digital currencies on the global economy, and monetary policy.
Using the Linux operating system full-time: Tips and experiences from a subject liaison librarian

About a year ago, I requested and received a university libraries issued Ubuntu Linux computer. Ubuntu is a popular open-source GNU/Linux operating system. Since then, I have used Linux every day for all of my liaison librarianship duties, professional service, and scholarship.
Collecting for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Best Practices for Virginia Libraries

Collecting for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Best Practices for Virginia Libraries presents an overview for auditing library collections, from selection and cataloging to policy and community engagement statements. Developed in concert with public, school, and academic libraries, appendices support all library types.
Deploytech: Deployment Technology Survey Web Publication Version

The information in this survey provides a sample of details on deployable structures that have been proposed, tested, and flown from the 1960s to today.
Smart Seafloor Mining Vehicle: Simulation With Successive Learning Track-Keeping Control

A large self-propelled seafloor miner or vehicle was tested in the ’70s on the seafloor at a depth of 3,000 to 5,000 m. It was a subsystem of the integrated ship-pipe-buffer-link-miner production system of manganese nodules from the seafloor at that depth. In tracking the set points of the target track, turning and varying its speed, the miner maneuver must overcome uncertainties in many unknown operational parameters, in addition to the positioning uncertainty of a long pipe. It requires a smart miner. A basic control algorithm, the successive learning track-keeping control (SLTC) algorithm, was proposed to correctly track-keep the prescribed target track of set points or miner path. Successful learning and overcoming of the uncertainties in soil friction and hydrodynamic drag by the SLTC algorithm are demonstrated with the simulation of a miner following a zigzag target track on the flat seafloor. In controlling the miner with the initial off-track disturbance, it takes the first 3 to 5 tracks of the learning process to move the miner to the zigzag tracks. *ISOPE Member. †Research Associate (April-December 1998). Received March 28, 1999; revised manuscript received by the editors August 6, 1999. The original version (prior to the final revised manuscript) was presented at the Ninth International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference (ISOPE-99), Brest, France, May 30-June 4, 1999.
Time-Varying Risk and Risk Premiums in Frontier Markets

We study risk-return relationship in twenty Frontier country stock markets by setting up an international version of the intertemporal capital asset pricing model (International ICAPM). The systematic risk in this model comes from covariance of Frontier market stock index returns with world returns, proxied by US stock index returns. We also incorporate own country variances as additional determinants of Frontier country returns. Our model allows for the covariance risk to be time-varying. Time-varying correlations are captured by utilizing the Dynamic Conditional Correlations (DCC) model. The premium per unit of covariance risk is allowed to vary over time as well. Thus, both the risk and risk premium on Frontier country market returns are time-varying in our model. We find the conditional correlations, although modest on average, to vary over time, and suggestive of substantial diversification benefits from investing in Frontier markets versus a portfolio holding just US stocks. These correlations display no time trend, suggesting that diversification benefits have not diminished with recent globalization. Our results suggest statistically significant impact of both US covariance risk and own country variance risk in explaining Frontier country returns. Time-variation in the price of covariance risk is also found to be statistically significant for most Frontier market returns. However, own country variance risk is found to be quantitatively more important.
What's in a Face?

Is the primate brain a generalized machine that can tackle a wide array of problems or a collection of modules, each designed for a specific task? New results suggest a modular organization, at least for specialized cognition.
Asynchronous bank of filters for sparse signal decomposition

Asynchronous signal processing addresses the need for analog devices that provide efficient representation and reconstruction of data at a low-power consumption. In this paper we propose an asynchronous filter-bank decomposer for sparse signals commonly found in biomedical applications. It is based on a modified version of the asynchronous sigma delta modulator (ASDM), a non-linear feedback system that maps the amplitude of a bounded signal into a binary signal. Signal reconstruction requires the solution of an integral equation that depends on the zero-crossing times of the ASDM output. Letting the input be the derivative of the signal, the integral equation is reduced to a first-order difference equation of which the input is a function of the zero-crossing times and a scale parameter of the ASDM. Using a bank of filters to determine the corresponding scale parameters we obtain a decomposer that samples non-uniformly and that has a recursive reconstruction. Thus the range of frequencies is set by the bank of filters and the width of local windows is set by the characteristics of the derivative of the signal at those frequencies. To illustrate the procedure we consider actual signals.
Just what the doctor ordered. Review of the evidence of the impact of computerized physician order entry system on medication errors.

Objective. To examine the association between computerization of physician ordersand prescribing medication errors.Data Sources. Studies published in English language were identiﬁed through MED-LINE(1990through December2005),CochraneCentralRegister ofControlledTrials,and bibliographies ofretrievedarticles. Of 252 identiﬁedinthesearch, 12(4.8percent)original investigations that compared rates of prescribing medication errors with hand-written and computerized physician orders were included.Data Collection. Information on study design, participant characteristics, clinicalsettings, and outcomes rates were abstracted independently by two investigators usinga standardized protocol.Principal Findings. Compared with handwritten orders, 80 percent of studies (8/10studies) reporteda signiﬁcant reduction intotalprescribing errors,43 percent indosingerrors (3/7 studies), and 37.5 percent in adverse drug events (3/8 studies). The use ofcomputerized orders was associated with a 66 percent reduction in total prescribingerrors in adults (odds ratio [OR]50.34; 95 percent conﬁdence interval [CI] 0.22–0.52)and a positive tendency in children (p for interaction 5.028). The beneﬁt of comput-erized orders was larger when the rate of errors was more than 12 percent with hand-written orders (p for interaction5.022). Signiﬁcant heterogeneity in the resultscompromised pooled relative risks. One randomized controlled intervention demon-strated the greatest beneﬁts of computerized orders on total prescribing errors(OR50.02, 95 percent CI 0.01–0.02) and dosing errors (OR50.28; 95 percent CI0.15–0.52) with 775 avoided prescribing errors (95 percent CI 752–811) per 1,000orders in a pediatric hospital.Conclusions. Computerization of physicians’ orders shows great promise. It willbe more effective when linked to other computerized systems to detect and preventprescribing errors.KeyWords. Medicationerrors,medicalorderentrysystems,epidemiologicstudies
Notes Toward a Meteorology of the Cloud

The premise of detailed forecasts is meteorological observation. An ominous cloud has eclipsed the global horizon of neoliberal capitalist realism. Researching cloud formations, I queried Google with the search term “clouds.” However, when using the term “cloud,” I only received results about server-based computing. Thus the cloud is singular, not plural: 100% cloud cover, blanketing the sky with grey. This is not a marketing-friendly cumulus cloud, but rather a dark, sheetlike formation—what meteorologists call a pallium . Whereas curative approaches require consideration and cogitation—care—what the pallium offers instead is palliation; alleviation of symptoms without any real remedy. In accordance with the techno-utopian walled garden , opposing or divergent views are eradicated under the pallium, leaving us with an AstroTurfed landscape that is paralyzing in its uniformity. Luke Howard’s categories of tropospheric clouds parallel the multifarious manifestations of the contemporary cloud: in commercial data collection for targeted marketing, as well as in government surveillance for preemptive law enforcement. A digital meteorology of these formations—the benign cumuliform , appearing in the logos of corporate cloud-computing services; the grey, ominous stratiform ; and the striated, interstellar cirriform —must be considered, in order to predict and prepare for the imminent approach of the panoptic pharmakon of the pallium, as it arrives under the guise of a swarm of cutesy cumulus clouds. Drawing from studies of panopticism, contemporary marketing practices, and the effluence tapped by Edward Snowden, this essay deploys hydrous analogies to forecast whether anything but AstroTurf can survive in the current climate.
The Role of Language for Conscious Experience: Observations from Split-brain Man

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the observations from split-brain man. The early claims by split-brain researchers that splitting the cerebrum essentially doubled the mental apparatus are met with (1) awe, (2) skepticism, or (3) incredulity. It is quite pleasant dealing with those people in the first category. As for the skeptics, their rightly placed arguments that the data existing in the mid-sixties could hardly support such a claim have now, when informed of new results, given assent. In recent years the approach laboratory has been taking in the study of split-brain patients is to acquire and understand how the two cerebral hemispheres interact to produce their ever present sense of conscious unity, even though the behavioral evidence clearly shows that the mental phenomenon of one hemisphere goes outside the awareness of the other. Studies are very much in an exceptionally dynamic phase for PS and the other split-brain patients of the Wilson series.
Human Protein Requirements: A Long-Term Metabolic Nitrogen Balance Study in Young Men to Evaluate the 1973 FAO/WHO Safe Level of Egg Protein Intake

Six Caucasion male MIT students, age 19 to 23 years, were given a formula diet providing 0.59 g egg protein/kg body weight/day and energy intakes approximately 10% above their usual requirements. Four subjects continued on this diet for 81 to 89 days, but for the two the protein intake was increased after 50 and 59 days because of an excessive rise in serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. The elevated serum AST and ALT activities fell to normal rapidly when these subjects received a diet providing 1.5 g protein/kg/day from skim milk powder. Body weight increased in five of the subjects. Four showed cumulative negative N balances, and all showed a net loss of total body 40K, which was significant in three. These findings indicate that the 1973 FAO/WHO "safe level" of egg protein intake of 0.57 g/kg is not sufficient for long-term maintenance of most healthy young men. Moreover, the greater N losses calculated from 40K and creatinine measurements than from the N balance data suggest an integumental N loww approximating 15 mg/kg rather than the 5 mg of the 1973 allowances.