cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Temperature Regulation of Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) Foraging in the Sonoran Desert

A heat budget for foraging honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.) indicated that at 30–35°C all bees are in positive heat balance during flight. Observations of honey bees returning to their hives at high ambient temperatures support the conjecture that honey bees regulate head and thorax temperatures at high Ta by regurgitating droplets of honey stomach contents which are then evaporated. The proportion of returning bees with a droplet on the tongue increased with increasing shade temperature (Ts), from essentially no bees at 20°C to 40% of returning bees at 40°C. Pollen foragers carry relatively little fluid during the hottest periods, and pollen foraging decreased at high ambient temperatures. Thoracic temperatures of pollen collectors are significantly higher than thoracic temperatures of water and nectar gatherers at 40°C (46.13 vs 44°C). Additionally, water and nectar foragers with extruded droplets have slightly cooler heads and thoraces (38.94 and 43.22°C) than bees not extruding droplets (40.28 and 44.18°C). Wingloading and thoracic temperatures of bees are inversely correlated at high ambient temperatures (35°C) and this is probably caused by a higher propensity of heavier bees to extrude fluid, thus reducing thoracic temperature.
TETRAPLOID STRAINS OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE THAT ARE TRISOMIC FOR CHROMOSOME III

Meiotic segregation of several genes has been studied in tetraploid strains that are trisomic for chromosome III . The segregation data were compared to a computer simulation that assumes trivalent pairing of homologues involved in exchanges, followed by nonpreferential segregation. Trivalent pairing was characterized by higher frequencies of exchange as compared to bivalent pairing, and by the presence of spores resulting from at least double crossovers involving all three homologues. Trivalent segregation was characterized by a unique recombinant class. The strong interference normally exhibited in diploid meiotic recombination was not evident from the frequency of double crossovers in these strains.
STRANGE BARYON AND H-DIBARYON MEASUREMENTS IN AU-AU COLLISIONS IN AGS EXPERIMENT E896

The primary goal of E896 at the AGS was to perform a definitive search of the H-Dibaryon in central Au-Au collisions. In addition E896 has measured strange meson and baryon distributions at mid-rapidity. The different components of the experiment will be presented, with special emphasis on the first successful tracking detector based on Silicon Drift Detector technology. The physics motivation for the H-Dibaryon search as well as the measurement of strange baryon abundances will be detailed. Finally, preliminary results of the ongoing analysis will be shown.
Phosphate-Induced Renal Fibrosis Requires the Prolyl Isomerase Pin1.

Tubulo-interstitial fibrosis is a common, destructive endpoint for a variety of kidney diseases. Fibrosis is well correlated with the loss of kidney function in both humans and rodents. The identification of modulators of fibrosis could provide novel therapeutic approaches to reducing disease progression or severity. Here, we show that the peptidyl-prolyl isomerase Pin1 is an important molecular contributor that facilitates renal fibrosis in a well-characterized animal model. While wild-type mice fed a high phosphate diet (HPD) for 8–12 weeks developed calcium deposition, macrophage infiltration and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation in the kidney interstitium, Pin1 null mice showed significantly less pathology. The serum Pi in both WT and KO mice were significantly increased by the HPD, but the serum Ca was slightly decreased in KO compared to WT. In addition, both WT and KO HPD mice had less weight gain but exhibited normal organ mass (kidney, lung, spleen, liver and heart). Unexpectedly, renal function was not initially impaired in either genotype irrespective of the HPD. Our results suggest that diet containing high Pi induces rapid renal fibrosis before a significant impact on renal function and that Pin1 plays an important role in the fibrotic process.
The Effects of Fish Meal, Methionine and Different Cereal Grains in Diets of Young Turkeys

Abstract SEVERAL practical feeding experiments with growing chickens have been conducted to determine the feeding value and the unidentified growth factor content of fish meal. In experiments conducted several years ago, large increases in growth and feed efficiency of chickens resulted from the addition of fish meal to diets in the place of soybean meal on a weight or protein basis (Matterson et al., 1951; Saxena and McGinnis, 1952; Ringrose and Potter, 1952; Branion and Hill, 1953; Matterson et al., 1953). Later, in more highly vitamin-fortified rations in which fish meal was added with ground yellow corn in the place of soybean meal and stabilized fat to keep both protein and energy constant, fish meal produced only small or insignificant increases in the growth and feed efficiency of chickens (Rosenberg et al., 1955; Matterson et al., 1957). In more recent experiments in which fish meal was added to the diet in…
A New Male Incontinence Clamp

The incontinence clamp described requires only half the pressure of other competitive clamps and, therefore, involves only half the risk of damage to the urethra by over compression. Advantages of the clamp include the 2-point ventral urethral compression and the production of an S curve to the urethra. The clamp can be applied without vision.
Expression of 5-HT1C receptors in transfected MDCK cells is functionally and anatomically asymmetric

Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells were transfected with the cDNA for the rat 5-HT1C receptor (pMV7-SR1c) using electroporation. Cells that survived G418 selection medium were loaded with indo-1 and run through a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS); 10% responded to serotonin (5-HT) with an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). Responding cells were separated with the FACS, grown to confluence, and resorted two more times until a clone of 100% respondents was obtained (SR-MDCK). In SR-MDCK cells grown on porous filters, [Ca2+]i increased only when 5-HT was applied to the basolateral membrane (change in [Ca2+]i = 190 +/- 43 nM); there was no response of [Ca2+]i to apical application of 5-HT. The asymmetric response to 5-HT was likely due to targeting of 5-HT1C receptors exclusively to the basolateral membrane of SR-MDCK cells; 125I-labeled lysergic acid diethylamide binding sites, a marker of high-affinity 5-HT receptors, were located only in the basolateral membrane. These experiments demonstrate that epithelial cells can be stably transfected to express G protein-linked, calcium-mobilizing receptors and that the receptors may be targeted asymmetrically to specific domains of the plasma membrane.
Growth Hormone and Insulin-like Growth Factor-I Treatment for Metabolic Bone Diseases

Publisher Summary The growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) regulatory system, which includes endocrine/paracrine/autocrine effects of IGF-I, is involved in determining bone size, length, density, and architecture of the mature mammalian skeleton. This chapter reviews the evidence for and against the use of these peptides in bone diseases such as osteoporosis. The regulation of growth hormone secretion from the pituitary is complex and involves the elaboration of discrete neurosecretory peptides from the hypothalamus. Somatostatin (SMS), a small but ubiquitous polypeptide, inhibits GH synthesis and secretion, thereby tightly controlling GH production. GH secretion is pulsatile due to episodic release of GHRH, and circadian, with the highest pulse amplitude occurring between 02:00 and 06:00. Growth hormone has direct and indirect effects on bone, depending on age and skeletal maturity. Substantial differences between the direct and indirect effects of GH on the osteoblast partially explain changes in skeletal responsiveness to GH and IGF-I. Intermittent (daily or three times weekly) injections of rhGH results in a prolonged and sustained GH profile with resultant catch-up growth evident during the first year of treatment. The skeletal response to GH depends on several factors including GH secretory status, pretreatment IGF-I levels, pretreatment height velocity, and GH dosage. The treatment of adult GHD is a relatively new option for patients with low BMD. Short-term treatment with rhGH leads to a decrease in adiposity and an increase in lean body mass in adults. The majority of adult patients treated with rhGH have either idiopathic GHD or a history of previous central nervous system (CNS)/pituitary-hypothalamic tumors. Early trials with rhGH replacement therapy examined changes in muscle mass, muscle strength, and body fat. Daily administration of subcutaneous rhGH to GHD patients produced a marked rise in serum IGF-I and an increase in muscle mass and basal metabolic rate.
Exploring the impact of written reflections on learning in the elementary mathematics classroom

ABSTRACTThe authors examined the implementation of written reflections in a Grade 4 mathematics classroom over the course of 8 weeks. Students in this case study engaged in a workshop modeled after Calkin's Writers' Workshop and within this workshop the use of writing as a reflective tool in mathematics was introduced. The authors explore how students used writing to evaluate their learning and how the teacher used the students' written reflections as a formative assessment for instructional purposes. Students' written reflections were coded and these codes were used to conduct an inductive thematic analysis. Analysis of written reflections via constant-comparison analysis was used for further differentiation. The findings show students' ability to accurately self-evaluate their problem-solving skills and highlighted students' confidence level with certain mathematical concepts. Teachers were able to use students' reflections as a place to begin conferring with a student for further clarification. The wri...
Compact, fiber-based Kerr lens saturable absorber

We report numerical simulations on a fiber compatible saturable absorber design based on Kerr lens effect. The transmission is calculated for such device as a function of beam power and fiber design.
An update on the Barriers to Adherence and a Definition of Self-Report Non-adherence Given Advancements in Antiretroviral Therapy (ART).

Relying on the most frequently reported barriers to adherence and convenient definitions of non-adherence may lead to less valid results. We used a dominance analysis (a regression-based approach) to identify the most important barriers to adherence based on effect size using data collected through an online survey. The survey included the Adherence Barrier Questionnaire, self-reported non-adherence defined as a 4-day treatment interruption, and HIV clinical outcomes. The sample (N = 1217) was largely male, gay identified, and White. Nearly 1 in 3 participants reported “simply forgot” as a barrier; however, in a dominance analysis, it yielded a small effect size it its association with a 4-day treatment interruption. Further, dominance analyses stratified by race/ethnicity and age suggested that not all barriers impact all groups equally. The most frequently reported barriers to adherence were not the most important, and interventions should focus on barriers more strongly linked to clinical outcomes.
Symptoms Relevant to Surveillance for Ovarian Cancer

To examine how frequently and confidently healthy women report symptoms during surveillance for ovarian cancer. A symptoms questionnaire was administered to 24,526 women over multiple visits accounting for 70,734 reports. A query of reported confidence was included as a confidence score (CS). Chi square, McNemars test, ANOVA and multivariate analyses were performed. 17,623 women completed the symptoms questionnaire more than one time and >9500 women completed it more than one four times for >43,000 serially completed questionnaires. Reporting ovarian cancer symptoms was ~245 higher than ovarian cancer incidence. The positive predictive value (0.073%) for identifying ovarian cancer based on symptoms alone would predict one malignancy for 1368 cases taken to surgery due to reported symptoms. Confidence on the first questionnaire (83.3%) decreased to 74% when more than five questionnaires were completed. Age-related decreases in confidence were significant (p < 0.0001). Women reporting at least one symptom expressed more confidence (41,984/52,379 = 80.2%) than women reporting no symptoms (11,882/18,355 = 64.7%), p < 0.0001. Confidence was unrelated to history of hormone replacement therapy or abnormal ultrasound findings (p = 0.30 and 0.89). The frequency of symptoms relevant to ovarian cancer was much higher than the occurrence of ovarian cancer. Approximately 80.1% of women expressed confidence in what they reported.
Non-invasive Brain Stimulation for Essential Tremor.

Background: There is increasing interest in the use of non-invasive brain stimulation to characterize and potentially treat essential tremor (ET). Studies have used a variety of stimulation coils, paradigms, and target locations to make these observations. We reviewed the literature to compare prior studies and to evaluate the rationale and the methods used in these studies. Methods: We performed a systematic literature search of the PubMed database using the terms ‘‘transcranial,’’ ‘‘noninvasive,’’ ‘‘brain stimulation,’’ ‘‘transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS),’’ ‘‘transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS),’’ ‘‘transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS),’’ and ‘‘essential tremor.’’ Results: Single pulses of TMS to the primary motor cortex have long been known to reset tremor. Although there are relatively few studies showing alterations in motor cortical physiology, such as motor threshold, short and long intracortical inhibition, and cortical silent period, there may be some evidence of altered intracortical facilitation and cerebello-brain inhibition in ET. Repetitive TMS, theta burst stimulation, tDCS, and tACS have been applied to human subjects with tremor with some preliminary signs of tremor reduction, particularly in those studies that employed consecutive daily sessions. Discussion: A variety of stimulation paradigms and targets have been explored, with the increasing rationale an interest in targeting the cerebellum. Rigorous assessment of coil geometry, stimulation paradigm, rationale for selection of the specific anatomic target, and careful phenotypic and physiologic characterization of the subjects with ET undergoing these interventions may be critical in extending these preliminary findings into effective stimulation therapies.
Timescale Pluralism and Sciences of Time

The history of the science of time often focuses on the techniques and technologies that led to our present practices but neglects other approaches to timekeeping that were discarded, neglected, or peripheral to how we currently reckon time. Yet, there have been contexts in which multiple timescales coexisted, even if such instances of timescale pluralism have now been mostly forgotten. This presentation explores timescale pluralism and timescale uniformity in late medieval York, early modern Nuremberg, mid-twentieth century studies of the biting behavior of mosquitoes in Trinidad, and current primatology. These different cases reveal the benefits and pitfalls of timescale pluralism versus timescale uniformity and suggest a rethinking of the history of the science of time away from narratives that emphasize function and progress to those that explore politics, contested choices, and the conceptual costs of particular decisions.
Sensitivity of Induced Seismic Sequences to Rate-and-State Frictional Processes

It is well established that subsurface injection of fluids increases pore-fluid pressures that may lead to shear failure along a pre-existing fault surface. Concern amongst oil and gas, geothermal, and carbon storage operators has risen dramatically over the past decade due to the increase in the number and magnitude of induced earthquakes. Efforts to mitigate the risk associated with injection induced earthquakes include modeling of the interaction between fluids and earthquake faults. Here, we investigate this relationship with simulations that couple a geomechanical reservoir model and RSQSim, a physics-based earthquake simulator. RSQSim employs rate-and state-dependent friction (RSF) which enables the investigation of the time-dependent nature of earthquake sequences. We explore the effect of two RSF parameters and normal stress on the spatiotemporal characteristics of injection induced seismicity. We perform >200 simulations to systematically investigate the effect of these model components on the evolution of induced seismic sequences and compare spatiotemporal characteristics of our synthetic catalogs to observations of induced earthquakes. We find that the RSF parameters control the ability of seismicity to migrate away from the injection well, the total number and maximum magnitude of induced events. Additionally, the RSF parameters control the occurrence/absence of premonitory events. Lastly, we find that earthquake stress drops can be modulated by the normal stress and/or the RSF parameters. Insight gained from this study can aid in further development of models that address best practice protocols for injection operations, site-specific models of injection induced earthquakes, and probabilistic hazard and risk assessments of induced earthquakes.
Versatile Click-Protein Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Protein hydrogels made entirely of host proteins should be of great value to the field of regenerative medicine. A versatile and efficient approach to transform any protein into hydrogels is presented. This strategy is based on the copper-free click chemistry reaction between azide (N3) and dibenzylcyclooctyne (DBCO). The target proteins are first individually functionalized with N3 or DBCO, and then mixed under physiological condition to trigger the spontaneous formation of a highly crosslinked protein network or hydrogel through the click reaction. The resulting click hydrogels exhibited high solution stability, interconnected porous network, tunable compressive moduli ranging from 2 to 200 kPa, adjustable stress-relaxation time (t1/2) between 5 and 2200 s, shape-memory property, self-healing ability and the ability to support mammalian cells attachment on 2D and 3D microenvironment, pointing to their great potential in tissue engineering for diverse biomedical applications.
Polymerization of hexamethylene diisocyanate in solution and a 260.23 m/z [M+H]+ ion in exposed human cells.

Abstract Hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) is an important industrial chemical that can cause asthma, however pathogenic mechanisms remain unclear. Upon entry into the respiratory tract, HDI's N=C=O groups may undergo nucleophilic addition (conjugate) to host molecules (e.g. proteins), or instead react with water (hydrolyze), releasing CO2 and leaving a primary amine in place of the original N=C=O. We hypothesized that (primary amine groups present on) hydrolyzed or partially hydrolyzed HDI may compete with proteins and water as a reaction target for HDI in solution, resulting in polymers that could be identified and characterized using LC-MS and LC-MS/MS. Analysis of the reaction products formed when HDI was mixed with a pH buffered, isotonic, protein containing solution identified multiple [M+H]+ ions with m/z's and collision-induced dissociation (CID) fragmentation patterns consistent with those expected for dimers (259.25/285.23 m/z), and trimers (401.36/427.35 m/z) of partially hydrolyzed HDI (e.g. ureas/oligoureas). Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and monocyte-like U937, but not airway epithelial NCI-H292 cell lines cultured with these HDI ureas contained a novel 260.23 m/z [M+H]+ ion. LC-MS/MS analysis of the 260.23 m/z [M+H]+ ion suggest the formula C13H29N3O2 and a structure containing partially hydrolyzed HDI, however definitive characterization will require further orthogonal analyses.
Nose, Larynx, and Trachea

Abstract Chapter 22 outlines the morphology of the nose, larynx, and trachea. The text includes descriptions of spontaneous and treatment-related lesions observed in the tissues in toxicity and carcinogenicity studies. The text begins with a description of the normal upper respiratory tract through the stages of embryonic development. Anatomy and histology are discussed before delving into the various degenerative, regenerative, and adaptive lesions found in toxicology studies. Included in the text is information on inflammatory and vascular lesions, and how trauma and injury, as well as exposure to irritants, can elicit inflammatory responses. Molecular pathology of the upper respiratory tract is investigated, as well as an examination of the molecular alterations within specific cell types, providing a better understanding of the mechanisms of tissue injury.
Computer Simulation and Sampling Efficiency

A Forest Sampling Simulator (FOSS) interactive computer program has been developed to investigate the merits of various sampling designs for instruction and research. FOSS allows the user to study aspects of sampling efficiency as affected by spatial patterns of trees in a forest, number of observations, size and shape of individual sampling units, and method of selecting samples. A large variety of field conditions can be simulated, and relevant statistics allow comparisons among sampling schemes. The program is written in BASICA and runs on an IBM personal computer or other fully compatible units. This software package was developed as a teaching and research tool; it does not process field data.
Modifying Inner Speech: A Cognitive Behavior Modification Technique for Learning Disabled Students

(1976). Modifying Inner Speech: A Cognitive Behavior Modification Technique for Learning Disabled Students. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Western College Reading Association: Vol. 9, Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of the WCRA. The Spirit of '76: Revolutionizing College Learning Skills, pp. 142-147.
Structural Isomerism and the Electronic Basis for Ligand Segregation on C 2 Cores

One of the most fascinating trends of molecular stereochemistry is the tendency of ligands to segregate into sets when attached on carbon cores. A typical example is provided by the comparison of 1,1 and cis 1,2-difluoroethylene, henceforth referred to as G and C 1,2 difluoroethylene, respectively.
Trump and the Press: A Murder-Suicide Pact

In the 1970s it was crusading journalism which brought down Republican President Nixon following the Watergate scandal. However, Jeff Jarvis makes the argument that any attempt for the press to bring down the current President, Donald Trump, would be to sign their own death warrant.
Locating the festival, positioning the feast: natural and calendar festivals in medieval Slovenia

The astronomical cycles and occurrences of the Sun, Moon, planets and certain star constellations were well known to prehistoric, Roman and medieval communities. Archaeoastronomy studies how ancien...
The optimal chemotherapy regimen for primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma: we may never know

Rituximab plus dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin administered over 96 hours by intravenous infusion (DA-R-EPOCH) is an effective therapy for primar...
Hospitalization Trends for Acute Kidney Injury in Kidney Transplant Recipients in the United States, 2004–2014

Background.The incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) and AKI requiring dialysis (AKI-D) in the general population is increasing. However, there is limited information on the epidemiology of AKI-related hospitalizations in the prevalent US kidney transplant population.Methods.We analyzed trends in t
Association of Cortical β-Amyloid Protein in the Absence of Insoluble Deposits With Alzheimer Disease.

Importance β-Amyloid deposits are a pathologic hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). However, the extent to which cortical β-amyloid protein in the absence of insoluble deposits is associated with classic features of AD appear to be unknown. Objective To examine the associations of cortical β-amyloid protein in the absence of insoluble deposits with cognitive decline, neurofibrillary tangles, other age-associated neuropathologic conditions, and APOE. Design, Setting, and Participants This analysis combines data from 2 community-based clinicopathologic cohort studies of aging. The Religious Orders Study started in 1994, and the Rush Memory and Aging Project started in 1997. Both studies are ongoing. Participants without known dementia were enrolled and agreed to annual clinical evaluations and brain donation after death. Primary analyses focused on individuals without β-amyloid deposits. Data analyses occurred in mid-September 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures β-Amyloid protein abundance was measured by targeted proteomics using selected reaction monitoring. β-Amyloid deposits were detected using immunohistochemistry. Other neuropathologic indices were quantified via uniform structured evaluation. Linear mixed models were used to examine the association of β-amyloid protein with cognitive decline. Regression models examined the protein associations with neuropathologic outcomes and the APOE genotype. Results By mid-September 2018, 3575 older persons were enrolled, and 1559 had died and undergone brain autopsy. Proteomic data were collected in 1208 individuals, and 5 with missing cognitive scores were excluded. Of the remaining 1203, primary analyses focused on 148 individuals (12.3%) without β-amyloid deposits. In this group, the mean (SD) age at death was 87.0 (7.0) years, and 84 individuals (56.8%) were women. In the absence of β-amyloid deposits, we did not observe an association of β-amyloid protein with decline in episodic memory, but the protein was associated with faster rates of decline in processing speed (mean [SE] change, -0.014 [0.005]; P = .008) and visuospatial abilities (mean [SE] change, -0.013 [0.005]; P = .006). We did not observe protein association with paired helical filament tau tangle density. The protein was associated with amyloid angiopathy (odds ratio, 1.38 [95% CI, 1.15-1.67]; P < .001) but no other brain pathology. The associations with cognitive decline were unchanged after controlling for amyloid angiopathy. Neither APOE e4 nor a polygenic Alzheimer risk score was associated with β-amyloid protein. Conclusions and Relevance Cortical β-amyloid protein was associated with faster cognitive decline in the absence of β-amyloid deposits, which supports the role of cortical soluble β-amyloid as a neurotoxic agent in aging. The lack of protein association with paired helical filament tau tangles, episodic memory decline, or strong genetic drivers of deposited β-amyloid suggests an underlying neuropathologic change that may differ from that of AD.
George Loewenstein Recommends “Self-Signaling and Diagnostic Utility in Everyday Decision Making” by Ronit Bodner and Drazen Prelec

To the extent that other people lack information about us, we can sometimes signal our “type” via our behavior. For example, if a generous person would give to a beggar, but a selfish person would not, then one can signal one’s generosity by giving. The fundamental psychological assumption behind self-signaling theory is that people often lack information about themselves. Given such a lack of self-knowledge, we may make judgments about ourselves in the same way we do about others, inferring who we are from the actions we take. This creates a motive to take actions that signal desirable characteristics or traits.
The impact of depression in cancer patients on healthcare utilization.

243Background: The Oncology Care Model (OCM) has set several initiatives to improve payment and care delivery in the Medicare patient population, including screening for depression in cancer patien...
Early Detection of Cardiovascular Diseases Using Wearable Ultrasound Device

Early detection of symptoms is considered an effective approach to prevent deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Routine cardiac check-ups are therefore suggested by clinicians to detect CVD at an early stage. Unfortunately, existing methods for cardiac diagnosis are costly and time-consuming as in most of the cases, these facilities are available only in hospitals or clinics. In this article, a novel wearable ultrasonic imaging assembly is proposed for routine monitoring of the carotid arteries in an easy-to-use and economical way. Using standard B-mode ultrasound, which is suitable for wearable form factors, the device monitors intima–media thickness (IMT), which is a proven indicator of cardiovascular disease. The design parameters for all the essential hardware components of the proposed wearable imaging system along with an efficient algorithm for predicting IMT anomalies from ultrasound images are proposed. Finally, we describe a custom-designed prototype of the proposed system and demonstrate its capability in acquiring ultrasound images.
Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is not idiopathic: proposal for a new nomenclature and patient classification.

With advancements in our understanding of the relationship between venous sinus pressures and intracranial pressures, the term ‘idiopathic intracranial hypertension’ no longer adequately describes the disease process for which it is named, nor does it help stratify the heterogenous group of patients that suffer from it. Venous manometry in patients with this condition clearly demonstrates elevated intracranial venous pressures as the cause of elevated intracranial pressures. I propose the term ‘chronic intracranial venous hypertension syndrome’ as a better descriptor for the disease and then present a potential classification scheme for patients based upon the pathophysiology causing the venous hypertension. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) was first described as pseudotumor cerebri by Dandy in 1937 as a clinical syndrome composed of headaches and visual obscurations combined with elevated intracranial pressure and no obvious mass lesion.1 This nomenclature later would be changed to ‘benign intracranial hypertension,’ however IIH clearly does not always have benign behavior as patients may present with visual loss that can progress to fulminant blindness. According to the Oxford Medical Dictionary, “idiopathic” is defined as: “Relating to or denoting any disease or condition which arises spontaneously or for which the cause is unknown.” Through history, afflictions that had no clear inciting or contributing cause (and therefore were perceived to develop spontaneously) were labeled with the term ‘idiopathic.’ Often times these diseases were diagnoses of exclusion, whereby the disease was defined by a subset of observed clinical criteria but more importantly by the absence of other, more common, better understood pathologies. The ‘wastebasket’ that is the diagnosis of exclusion is therefore a summation of ‘unknowns’ that may, in fact, represent separate, clinically-distinct entities beyond the resolving power of current medicine. The endless goal of medical research is to further understand disease to reduce the suffering it causes. It is only …
What factors influence patient experience in orthopedic oncology office visits

Author(s): Blank, Alan T; Shaw, Sara; Wakefield, Connor J; Zhang, Yue; Liu, Wei J; Jones, Kevin B; Randall, R Lor | Abstract: BACKGROUND:Patient satisfaction and reported outcomes are becoming increasingly important in determining the efficacy of clinical care. To date no study has evaluated the patient experience in the orthopedic oncology outpatient setting to determine which factors of the encounter are priorities to the patient. AIM:To evaluate what factors impact patient experience and report satisfaction in an outpatient orthopedic oncology clinic. METHODS:Press Ganey® patient surveys from a single outpatient orthopedic oncology clinic at a tertiary care setting were prospectively collected per routine medical care. All orthopedic oncology patients who were seen in clinic and received electronic survey were included. All survey responses were submitted within one month of clinic appointment. IRB approval was obtained to retrospectively collect survey responses from 2015 to 2016. Basic demographic data along with survey category responses were collected and statistically analyzed. RESULTS:One hundred sixty-two patient surveys were collected. Average patient age was 54.4 years (SD = 16.2 years) and were comprised of 51.2% female and 48.4% male. 64.2% of patients were from in-state. Out of state residents were more likely to recommend both the practice and attending physician. The likelihood to recommend attending physician was positively associated with MD friendliness/courtesy (OR = 14.4, 95%CI: 2.5-84.3), MD confidence (OR = 48.2, 95%CI: 6.2-376.5), MD instructions follow-up care (OR = 2.5, 95%CI: 0.4-17.4), and sensitivity to needs (OR = 16.1, 95%CI: 1-262.5). Clinic operations performed well in the categories of courtesy of staff (76%) and cleanliness (75%) and less well in ease of getting on the phone (49%), information about delays (36%), and wait time (37%). CONCLUSION:Orthopedic specialties can utilize information from this study to improve care from the patient perspective. Future studies may be directed at how to improve these areas of care which are most valued by the patient.
Glenoid bony morphology of osteoarthritis prior to shoulder arthroplasty: what the surgeon wants to know and why

Shoulder arthroplasty is performed with increasing frequency, and osteoarthritis is the most common indication for this procedure. However, the glenoid side of the joint is widely recognized as a limiting factor in the long-term durability of shoulder replacement, and osteoarthritis leads to characteristic bony changes at the glenoid which can exacerbate this challenge by reducing the already limited glenoid bone stock, by altering biomechanics, and by interfering with operative exposure. This article reviews the Walch classification system for glenoid morphology. Several typical findings of osteoarthritis at the glenoid are discussed including central bone loss, posterior bone loss, retroversion, biconcavity, inclination, osteophyte formation, subchondral bone quality, and bone density. The three primary types of shoulder arthroplasty are reviewed, along with several techniques for addressing glenoid deformity, including eccentric reaming, bone grafting, and the use of augmented glenoid components. Ultimately, a primary objective at shoulder arthroplasty is to correct glenoid deformity while preserving bone stock, which depends critically on characterizing the glenoid at pre-operative imaging. Understanding the surgical techniques and the implications of glenoid morphology on surgical decision-making enables the radiologist to provide the morphologic information needed by the surgeon.
Wireless Power Transfer System Integration with an On-Board Conductive Charger for Plug-in Electric Vehicles

This paper proposes a novel topology for integrating the receiver coil of a wireless power transfer system with the electric vehicle’s onboard bidirectional conductive charger. The system is designed to operate at two frequency bands to satisfy the power density requirement of a bidirectional onboard charger while keeping compliant with the working frequency and interoperability requirements proposed by the SAE J2954 for a wireless power transfer system. Through component sharing between the two sub-systems, a reduction in the overall size and cost of the onboard electronics is achieved. Simulation results are provided to validate the fundamental operation of the proposed circuit. Finally, a prototype is built to validate the assumptions.
Biopsy forceps disruption paired with bougie dilation of esophageal strictures lengthens time to repeat intervention

Esophageal strictures commonly cause dysphagia and require treatment with endoscopic dilation using balloons or bougies. We aimed to determine whether biopsy forceps disruption of strictures at time of dilation increases time to repeat intervention or duration of intervention-free follow-up. We performed a retrospective analysis of 289 adults (age 61.0 ± 0.8 years, 66.4% female) who underwent dilation of an esophageal stricture at our tertiary care center between 2014 and 2016. Exclusions consisted of endoscopic intervention within the preceding 6 months, prior foregut neoplasia, achalasia, radiofrequency ablation, endoscopic mucosal resection, endoscopic submucosal dissection, or foregut surgery. Demographics, clinical presentation, dilation technique, and follow-up were abstracted from electronic medical records. We compared time to repeat dilation and duration of intervention-free follow-up between treatment subgroups. Balloon dilation was performed more often than bougie dilation (76.8 vs. 17.6%); biopsy forceps disruption was performed in 23.2%. Over a median follow-up of 52.9 months, 135 patients (46.7%) underwent repeat dilation. Age, body mass index, gender, and use of antisecretory medications did not influence need for repeat dilation (P = ns for each). Bougie dilation with biopsy forceps disruption prolonged time to repeat dilation in all patients (P ≤ 0.02), particularly in those with gastroesophageal reflux disease (P ≤ 0.03), compared with bougie dilation alone and balloon dilation with or without disruption. On Kaplan-Meier analysis, bougie dilation with biopsy forceps resulted in longer intervention-free follow-up compared with dilation alone (P = 0.03). We conclude that stricture disruption with biopsy forceps increases time to repeat intervention with bougie but not balloon dilation.
A Categorical Approach to Linkage

Linkage of ideals is a very well-studied topic in algebra. It has lead to the development of module linkage which looks to extend the ideas and results of the former. Although linkage has been used extensively to find many interesting and impactful results, it has only been extended to schemes and modules. This paper builds a framework in which to perform linkage from a categorical perspective. This allows a generalization of many theories of linkage including complete intersection ideal linkage, Gorenstein ideal linkage, linkage of schemes and module linkage. Moreover, this construction brings together many different robust fields of homological algebra including linkage, homological dimensions, and duality. After defining linkage and showing results concerning linkage directly, we explore the connection between linkage, homological dimensions, and duality. Applications of this new framework are sprinkled throughout the paper investigating topics including module linkage, horizontal linkage, module theoretic invariants, and Auslander and Bass classes.
The 24-Hour Knowledge Factory: Work and Organizational Redesign and Associated Challenges

The term "24-Hour Knowledge Factory" connotes a geographically dispersed team of workers in which members of the team work on endeavors on a continous basis. This work has five defining features: i the same body of work is processed sequentially and handed one unit to another; ii the handover of work is characterized by short cycle times and the frequency of handover is greater than in traditional offshore work; iii the functional units of the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory operate in a peer-to-peer relationship where each functional unit audits the work of other units; iv the knowledge transfer between the different work units and work history between units is effected through specialized mechanisms and a distributed human agency called the composite personae; and v the constituent units of the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory feature similar work capabilities, as opposed to the more traditional model of global teams where the distributed teams usually possess complementary work capabilities. The distributed units of the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory work on the same body of work and do very similar work; therefore, the units have nearly identical capabilities. The authors identify two sets of research issues surrounding this phenomenon that fall within the technical paradigm and the organizational paradigm of information systems.
How do education resources respond to the quality of local governance in Africa

We empirically investigate the extent to which weak local governance such as corruption, lack of effectiveness, and responsiveness in local government offices in Africa affects the likelihood that citizens experience educational resource challenges in their local public schools. We consider the challenges of lack of textbooks, poor school facilities, expensive school fees, teacher absenteeism, overcrowded classrooms, and poor teaching quality. Our perception-based indicators of local governance are measured at the regional/provincial level, the smallest geographical location in our pooled Afrobarometer data set across 33 African countries. We find that local government officials' corrupt behaviors and ineffectiveness increase the local inhabitants' probability of experiencing challenges in their local public schools, even after controlling for government expenditure on education.
Efficiently Summarizing Text and Graph Encodings of Multi-Document Clusters

This paper presents an efficient graph-enhanced approach to multi-document summarization (MDS) with an encoder-decoder Transformer model. This model is based on recent advances in pre-training both encoder and decoder on very large text data (Lewis et al., 2019), and it incorporates an efficient encoding mechanism (Beltagy et al., 2020) that avoids the quadratic memory growth typical for traditional Transformers. We show that this powerful combination not only scales to large input documents commonly found when summarizing news clusters; it also enables us to process additional input in the form of auxiliary graph representations, which we derive from the multi-document clusters. We present a mechanism to incorporate such graph information into the encoder-decoder model that was pre-trained on text only. Our approach leads to significant improvements on the Multi-News dataset, overall leading to an average 1.8 ROUGE score improvement over previous work (Li et al., 2020). We also show improvements in a transfer-only setup on the DUC-2004 dataset. The graph encodings lead to summaries that are more abstractive. Human evaluation shows that they are also more informative and factually more consistent with their input documents.
Factors Influencing Distribution of Coccidioides immitis in Soil, Washington State, 2016.

Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii are causative agents of Valley fever, a serious fungal disease endemic to regions with hot, arid climate in the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. The environmental niche of Coccidioides spp. is not well defined, and it remains unknown whether these fungi are primarily associated with rodents or grow as saprotrophs in soil. To better understand the environmental reservoir of these pathogens, we used a systematic soil sampling approach, quantitative PCR (qPCR), culture, whole-genome sequencing, and soil chemical analysis to identify factors associated with the presence of C. immitis at a known colonization site in Washington State linked to a human case in 2010. We found that the same strain colonized an area of over 46,000 m2 and persisted in soil for over 6 years. No association with rodent burrows was observed, as C. immitis DNA was as likely to be detected inside rodent holes as it was in the surrounding soil. In addition, the presence of C. immitis DNA in soil was correlated with elevated levels of boron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, and silicon in soil leachates. We also observed differences in the microbial communities between C. immitis-positive and -negative soils. Our artificial soil inoculation experiments demonstrated that C. immitis can use soil as a sole source of nutrients. Taken together, these results suggest that soil parameters need to be considered when modeling the distribution of this fungus in the environment. IMPORTANCE Coccidioidomycosis is considered a highly endemic disease for which geographic range is likely to expand from climate change. A better understanding of the ecological niche of Coccidioides spp. is essential for generating accurate distribution maps and predicting future changes in response to the changing environment. Our study used a systematic sampling strategy, advanced molecular detection methods, and soil chemical analysis to identify environmental factors associated with the presence of C. immitis in soil. Our results demonstrate the fungus can colonize the same areas for years and is associated with chemical and microbiological soil characteristics. Our results suggest that in addition to climate parameters, soil characteristics need to be considered when building habitat distribution models for this pathogen.
Voices from a Dangerous Protest: Re-Assessing African Migration to Europe

African migrants to Italy/Europe are generally misunderstood by an increasingly unsympathetic European public and policymakers; the nature and purpose of their journey is unappreciated. Images of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean and horrific accounts of slave markets in Libya leave an impression of African migrants as helpless and hapless, only victims. But this iconic version of African migrants tells only part of the story, and not the essential nature of who they are and why they are attempting to reach Europe. Based on some 60 migrant interviews in Italy and France by the author over three summers (2014-2016) covering their entire journeys, this study uniquely shows a different picture. Far from being helpless, African migrants are not only courageous but strategic actors making many choices along the route to survive, as more limited studies of their journey also show (e.g. Schapendonk 2011; Bachet 2012; Mainwaring, Brigden 2016). Their journeys are also a protest against the failure of origin states to provide for basic human needs; failure of transit states, especially Libya, to protect human rights; and failure of receiving states such as Italy, to meet their international responsibilities to welcome asylum seekers instead of blocking their arrival.
The Neoliberal Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, Late Capitalism, and the Remaking of New Orleans

The overarching theme of this book is that neoliberal policies were the main reason for the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Specifically, it is argued that pro-market reforms adversely shaped the preconditions of the disaster, as well as the government’s response. The volume contains contributors from a variety of disciplines including: sociology, political science, education, public policy, and media theory. Although each of the contributors approaches their topic from their own unique disciplinary perspective, each chapter remains within the boundaries of the overarching theme of the book. The twelve chapters are broken into four sections—(1) Governance, (2) Urbanity, (3) Planning, and (4) Inequality—and cover topics ranging from racial politics, inequality and the exclusion of disenfranchised groups, the impact of neoliberalism on communities, public housing, and gender issues, among others. Let me first touch upon what I view as the main positive aspect of the volume. There is no arguing that Hurricane Katrina was a devastating event that caused a significant loss of life and property. There is also no arguing that the government failed in disaster preparation, response, and recovery. From this standpoint, a volume such as this is welcome, since it is crucial to understand the factors that played a role in this failure. That said, I ultimately find the volume to be unsatisfying and incomplete. I will focus my comments on what I see as the book’s four most significant weaknesses.