cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bariatric Surgery in Youth

Bariatric surgery provides a clinically effective and cost-effective means of achieving sustained weight reduction and management of associated comorbidities and has been met with increasing enthusiasm for application in obese youth. Following trends seen among obese adults, carefully selected obese youth are now undergoing bariatric surgical procedures with excellent short-term and intermediate-term outcomes. Although long-term data are not yet available, the results thus far hold great promise in the management of this population.
Popular Catholic Education in Venezuela

To a Polish reader, Venezuela is far away, despite the globalized world in which we live. The same is true in reverse: few Venezuelans know where to locate Poland on a map of Europe. However that fact does not prevent us from taking this opportunity to – by using the cont of this volume – build bridges between the two countries. There can be several pillars upon which to build, the most important of which is the common Catholic religious culture that we share. A historical tour will help explain the importance of Catholic education provided in the educational institutions dependent on the Catholic Church.
Benefits and Burdens of Transnational Campaigns: A Comparison Of Four Oil Struggles In Ecuador

Through an examination of four sites of contention in Ecuador, this study explores the impacts of transnational campaigns on domestic organizations and community groups while holding constant the focus of conflict, the construction of an oil pipeline. The international organizations verified local claims, enabled access to international venues such as conferences and investor meetings, and influenced the financing of future large-scale projects. Yet, the transnational campaigns unintentionally emphasized environmental conservation at the expense of local dignity-in-life claims, resonated only with select groups, and potentially undermined domestic networking building. The Northern campaigns emphasized World Bank standards that were arguably weak on environmental protection, especially when compared to the environmental justice demands arising in the oil hubs. Indeed, community participation, environmental health regulation, and economic redistribution may be better achieved through grassroots efforts that...
Data management for meeting global health challenges

Organizations and health agencies working on meeting global health challenges are becoming increasingly data driven. Governments and donors are demanding rigorous and up-to-date assessment of patient needs and health service delivery. These organizations work in some of the most difficult data environments - dealing with limited infrastructure and human resources, inconsistent data quality and availability, not to mention significant data backlogs.
The pathobiology of diabetic complications: a unifying mechanism.

It’s a great honor to join the exceptional club of Banting Award winners, many of whom were my role models and mentors. In addition, giving the Banting Lecture also has a very personal meaning to me, because without Frederick Banting, I would have died from type 1 diabetes when I was 8 years old. However, it was already apparent at the time I was diagnosed that for too many people like me, Banting’s discovery of insulin only allowed them to live just long enough to develop blindness, renal failure, and coronary disease. For example, when I started college, the American Diabetes Association’s Diabetes Textbook had this to say to my parents: “The person with type 1 diabetes can be reassured that it is highly likely that he will live at least into his 30s.” Not surprisingly, my parents did not find this particularly reassuring. At the same time we were reading this in 1967, however, the first basic research discovery about the pathobiology of diabetic complications had just been published in Science the previous year. In my Banting Lecture today, I am thus going to tell you a scientific story that is also profoundly personal. I’ve divided my talk into three parts. The first part is called “pieces of the puzzle,” and in it I describe what was learned about the pathobiology of diabetic complications starting with that 1966 Science paper and continuing through the end of the 1990s. In the second part, I present a unified mechanism that links together all of the seemingly unconnected pieces of the puzzle. Finally, in the third part, I focus on three examples of novel therapeutic approaches for the prevention and treatment of diabetic complications, which are all based on the new paradigm of a unifying mechanism for the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. …
ZpdN, a Plasmid-Encoded Sigma Factor Homolog, Induces pBS32-Dependent Cell Death in Bacillus subtilis

ABSTRACT The ancestral Bacillus subtilis strain 3610 contains an 84-kb plasmid called pBS32 that was lost during domestication of commonly used laboratory derivatives. Here we demonstrate that pBS32, normally present at 1 or 2 copies per cell, increases in copy number nearly 100-fold when cells are treated with the DNA-damaging agent mitomycin C. Mitomycin C treatment also caused cell lysis dependent on pBS32-borne prophage genes. ZpdN, a sigma factor homolog encoded by pBS32, was required for the plasmid response to DNA damage, and artificial expression of ZpdN was sufficient to induce pBS32 hyperreplication and cell death. Plasmid DNA released by cell death was protected by the capsid protein ZpbH, suggesting that the plasmid was packaged into a phagelike particle. The putative particles were further indicated by CsCl sedimentation but were not observed by electron microscopy and were incapable of killing B. subtilis cells extracellularly. We hypothesize that pBS32-mediated cell death releases a phagelike particle that is defective and unstable. IMPORTANCE Prophages are phage genomes stably integrated into the host bacterium9s chromosome and less frequently are maintained as extrachromosomal plasmids. Here we report that the extrachromosomal plasmid pBS32 of Bacillus subtilis encodes a prophage that, when activated, kills the host. pBS32 also encodes both the sigma factor homolog ZpdN that is necessary and sufficient for prophage induction and the protein ComI, which is a potent inhibitor of DNA uptake by natural transformation. We provide evidence that the entire pBS32 sequence may be part of the prophage and thus that competence inhibition may be linked to lysogeny.
The Psycho-Neurology of Cross-Species Affective/Social Neuroscience: Understanding Animal Affective States as a Guide to Development of Novel Psychiatric Treatments.

During the past half century of research with preclinical animal models, affective neuroscience has helped identify and illuminate the functional neuroanatomies and neurochemistries of seven primary process, i.e., genetically provided emotional systems of mammalian brains. All are subcortically localized, allowing animal models to guide the needed behavioral and neuroscientific analyses at levels of detail that cannot be achieved through human research, including modern brain imaging. They consist of the following neuronal processes: SEEKING/Enthusiasm, RAGE/Anger, FEAR/Anxiety, sexual LUST/Passion, maternal CARE/Nurturance, separation-distress PANIC/Grief and PLAY/Social Joy. Several of these systems figure heavily in social bonding. I will focus here especially on the genesis of depression. Its genesis is significantly influenced by (i) sustained overactivity of the separation-distress PANIC system reflecting severed social bonds and the excessive “psychological pain” of loneliness that can, if sustained, lead to a downward cascade known as psychological despair, and (ii) the despair phase that follows the acute PANIC response, which is characterized by abnormally low activity of the SEEKING, the so-called brain reward networks, leading to amotivational states that characterize depression. Depressive affect is promoted by such brain affective mechanisms of social attachments and social loss as well as diminished arousability of the SEEKING system, leading to chronic dysphoria. To understand why depression feels so bad, we must understand the neural mechanisms that mediate such social feelings.
Cerebral hemodynamics and pseudo‐continuous arterial spin labeling considerations in adults with sickle cell anemia

Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is a genetic disorder resulting in reduced oxygen carrying capacity and elevated stroke risk. Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling (pCASL) measures of cerebral blood flow (CBF) may have relevance for stroke risk assessment; however, the effects of elevated flow velocity and reduced bolus arrival time (BAT) on CBF quantification in SCA patients have not been thoroughly characterized, and pCASL model parameters used in healthy adults are often applied to patients with SCA. Here, cervical arterial flow velocities and pCASL labeling efficiencies were computed in adults with SCA (n = 19) and age- and race-matched controls without sickle trait (n = 7) using pCASL in sequence with phase contrast MR angiography (MRA). Controls (n = 7) and a subgroup of patients (n = 8) also underwent multi-post-labeling-delay pCASL for BAT assessment. Mean flow velocities were elevated in SCA adults (velocity = 28.3 ± 4.1 cm/s) compared with controls (velocity = 24.5 ± 3.8 cm/s), and mean pCASL labeling efficiency (α) was reduced in SCA adults (α = 0.72) relative to controls (α = 0.91). In patients, mean whole-brain CBF from phase contrast MRA was 91.8 ± 18.1 ml/100 g/min, while mean pCASL CBF when assuming a constant labeling efficiency of 0.86 was 75.2 ± 17.3 ml/100 g/min (p < 0.01), resulting in a mean absolute quantification error of 23% when a labeling efficiency appropriate for controls was assumed. This difference cannot be accounted for by BAT (whole-brain BAT: control, 1.13 ± 0.06 s; SCA, 1.02 ± 0.09 s) or tissue T1 variation. In conclusion, BAT variation influences pCASL quantification less than elevated cervical arterial velocity and labeling efficiency variation in SCA adults; thus, a lower labeling efficiency (α = 0.72) or subject-specific labeling efficiency should be incorporated for SCA patients.
After the Fall — Prophylaxis for All?

Nearly 1 million patients undergo knee arthroscopy in the United States every year.1 The incidence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism in this patient population is approximately 0.6%, or nearly 4000 patients per year.1,2 Published evidence for the benefit of prophylactic anticoagulation in patients undergoing knee arthroscopy has been of low or moderate quality, and on the basis of this evidence, the 2012 American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines do not recommend the use of thromboprophylaxis in patients who do not have a history of venous thromboembolism.3 The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommendations for hospitalized patients . . .
Protomesh, a wireless solution and platform for embedded education and Raspberry Pi workshops

In order to further education in embedded discovery, Protomesh (prototype mesh) seeks to improve the field by providing a wireless solution for deploying Raspberry Pi workshops. Protomesh is a platform for starting up a quick ad-hoc batman-adv network. Batman-adv is an open source, kernel module native to Linux that provides a layer two mesh network routing protocol [2]. We leveraged this technology during Raspberry Pi workshops to use as a wireless infrastructure where students could freely access their Raspberry Pi across the mesh network. Network technologies such as this provide both an interactive and enriching experience. Protomesh enhances this experience by providing a solution for wireless connections and removing the burden of tethered Raspberry Pis. By allowing students to experience Raspberry Pi's wirelessly, students are enabled to explore a new horizon of embedded education.
A novel iterative online rating attack based on market self-exciting property

The prosperity of online rating system makes it an important place for malicious vendors to mislead public's online decisions, whereas the security related studies are lagging behind. In this work, we adopt a quantile regression model to investigate influential factors on online user choices and reveal the “self-exciting” property of online market. Inspired by these findings, we propose a novel iterative rating attack and validate its advantage through experiments.
Promoting concern about gender bias with evidence-based confrontation

Abstract Whereas confrontations of racial bias prompt negative self-directed affect (e.g., guilt) and reduce bias, confrontations of gender bias are typically disregarded. We examined the effectiveness of an evidence - based confrontation in which participants received concrete evidence of their discriminatory gender-biased evaluations. Participants were confronted with evidence that they evaluated a female applicant for a lab manager position negatively, which would have resulted in her not being hired, and that their evaluations were more negative than an otherwise identical applicant who was male. Experiment 1 found that this confrontation activated greater guilt and, in turn, concern about expressing and regulating gender bias in the future (hereafter “future concern”), relative to participants who were confronted about gender bias but without concrete evidence of bias. Experiment 2 showed that confrontation with concrete evidence of gender bias activated guilt and future concern whether the bias was framed as viewing women as not belonging in science or as unintelligent. Experiment 3 showed that the positive effects of confronting gender bias with evidence were just as strong as a parallel confrontation of racial bias. Experiment 4 showed that the positive effects also held in a non-STEM domain, and that these effects were not dependent on the situational salience of norms opposing gender bias. Thus, a robust strategy for effective confrontation of gender bias was established. However, we discuss difficulties with implementing this strategy in many real world situations, along with implications for how best to curb gender bias through confrontation.
Learning Morphological Constructions

The great variability of morphological structure across languages makes it uncontroversial that morphology is learned. Yet, morphology presents formidable learning challenges, on par with those of syntax. This article takes a constructionist perspective in assuming that morphological constructions are a major outcome of the learning process. However, the existence of morphological paradigms in many languages suggests that they are often not the only outcome. The article reviews domain-general approaches to achieving this outcome. The primary focus is on mechanisms proposed within the associative/connectionist tradition, which are compared with Bayesian approaches. The issues discussed include the role of prediction and prediction error in learning, generative vs. discriminative learning models, directionality of associations, the roles of (unexpectedly) present vs. absent stimuli, general-to-specific vs. specific-to-general learning, and the roles of type and token frequency. In the process, the notion of a construction itself is shown to be more complicated that it first appears.
Gating Currents in the Hv1 Proton Channel.

Abstract The Hv1 proton channel shares striking structural homology with fourth transmembrane helical segment-type voltage-sensor (VS) domains but manifests distinctive functional properties, including a proton-selective “aqueous” conductance and allosteric control of voltage-dependent gating by changes in the transmembrane pH gradient. The mechanisms responsible for Hv1’s functional properties remain poorly understood, in part because methods for measuring gating currents that directly report VS activation have not yet been described. Here, we describe an approach that allows robust and reproducible measurement of gating-associated charge movements in Hv1. Gating currents reveal that VS activation and proton-selective aqueous conductance opening are thermodynamically distinct steps in the Hv1 activation pathway and show that pH changes directly alter VS activation. The availability of an assay for gating currents in Hv1 may aid future efforts to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of gating cooperativity, pH-dependent modulation, and H+ selectivity in a model VS domain protein.
SHRINKING COUNTABLE DECOMPOSITIONS OF E3 INTO POINTS AND TAME CELLS

Publisher Summary This chapter presents shrinking countable decompositions of E 3 into points and tame cells. It presents theorem that states that if G is an upper semi-continuous decomposition of E 2 such that no decomposition element seperates E 2 , then, E 2 / G = E 2 . If G is an upper semi-continuous decomposition of E 3 such that each point of E 3 / G has arbitrarily small neighborhoods U such that FR U is a 2-sphere missing π (G * ), then E 3 / G = E 3 . A decomposition H of E 3 is called a closed sub-decomposition of G if the nondegenerate elements of H form a closed subset of the nondegenerate elements of G. It follows immediately that H is an upper semi-continuous.
Classification of Rodents

Since the earliest classifications of mammals, rabbits and hares were considered very closely related to the rodents. Linnaeus (1758) included these groups in the same order, Glires. This arrangement was followed by nearly all of the early workers (e.g., Cuvier, 1817; Brandt, 1855). Alston (1876) recognized Linnaeus’s order with two suborders, Simplicidentata (rodents) and Duplici-dentata (lagomorphs). Gidley (1912) first named the order Lagomorpha separate from the Rodentia and considered the two orders as having had independent origins, with no special relationship. Simpson (1945) recognized the Rodentia and Lagomorpha as separate orders but maintained them in the cohort Glires. However, Simpson considered this association quite tentative because he, like Gidley, believed that there were no real characters that united these two groups and that the gliriform adaptations were merely convergences. Simpson’s view was followed by several workers (e.g., Wilson, 1949a; Dawson, 1967) and was generally accepted for many years.
Design and impact of an orientation for an interprofessional education program

Abstract Students who participate in the Vanderbilt Program for Interprofessional Learning are required to attend Immersion, our program of orientation for teams of interprofessional students. Medical, advanced practice nursing, pharmacy, and social work students coming from different institutions are required to complete the 4 day “Immersion” before beginning in their respective academic programs, as a way to decrease the development of professional bias. Many of the students are also new to the Nashville area, and the Immersion program introduces the students to the community and the populations they will be serving in professional school and beyond. Immersion includes a range of activities, including community tours, poverty simulations, creation of life maps, personality identification, team building, patient storytelling, and introduction to professional life. Each day has a specific theme: Self, Community, Professions and the Patient. Student evaluations for Immersion are overwhelmingly positive. The focus of this paper is to describe the curricular design of the Immersion week, report student feedback, and discuss lessons learned that might provide guidance for other educational programs.
Controlled Self-Assembly and Tuning of Large PbS Nanoparticle Supercrystals

Self-assembly of colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) into ordered superlattices (SLs) and supercrystals (SCs) enables new artificial NC solids for nanoelectronic and nanophotonic applications, which requires critical control of nucleation and growth conditions. Herein large SCs of PbS NCs up to ∼100 μm size were synthesized by two controlled self-assembly methods from NC solutions. Both translational symmetry and orientational ordering of the nanocrystals in the SCs were readily tuned by excess oleic acid ligands and antisolvents. Slow evaporation and the counterdiffusion method of solvents resulted in the formation of single SCs with two different SLs from the same PbS NCs: a face-centered cubic SL with weak yet complex orientational order or a body-centered cubic SL with strong and uniform particle orientation, respectively. The translational ordering was mainly determined by the effective shape of the NCs while the difference in orientational order was a result of the balance between ligand–ligand attraction ...
Analysis of dietary trends in Chinese adolescents from 1991 to 2011

Background and Objectives: To examine temporal trends in dietary energy, fat, carbohydrate, protein, sodium and potassium intake of Chinese adolescents aged 12 - 17 years by sex and urbanicity, using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Methods and Study Design: Individual level, consecutive 3 - day 24-hour recalls were analyzed from survey years 1991 (n=504), 2000 (n=665), and 2011 (n=267) from nine provinces representing a range of geography, economic development, and health indicators in China. Linear multivariable regression models were conducted to predict mean intakes of energy, macronutrients, sodium, and potassium. Models were adjusted for age, per capita income, parental education, region, and family size. Results: From 1991 to 2011, total energy consumption decreased among both sexes and all urbanicity groups (p＜0.05). Sodium intake decreased in all sex and urbanicity groups except the high urbanicity group, which was the only group to show significant change in potassium intake (p＜0.05). Sodium-potassium ratios decreased overall and across both sexes (p＜0.05). However, the major observed shift was a structural change from carbohydrates to fat and protein. Both sexes showed decrease in carbohydrate-derived energy (p＜0.05). Proportion of fat-derived energy increased in female adolescents. Proportion of protein-derived energy increased in male adolescents, as well as in the low and high urbanicity groups (p＜0.01). Conclusions: This suggests Chinese adolescents are transitioning to a low carbohydrate diet. Urbanicity appears to play a role in sodium, potassium and protein intake. Improvements of sodium-potassium ratios are primarily due to decreased sodium intake and require further reduction efforts.
Three-Dimensional Solution for a Through-Thickness Crack in a Cross-Plied Laminate

A three-dimensional solution is given to the problem of a through-thickness edge crack in a thin 90/0/0/90 laminate under uniform tension normal to the crack direction. The solution is obtained from a three-dimensional finite-element analysis based on the hybrid stress model, and formulated through the Hellinger-Reissner variational, principle. The results indicate that the classical 1/√r stress singularity is maintained for the in-plane stresses which vary through the thickness and are discontinuous at the ply interface. The interlaminar shear and normal stresses also increase rapidly as the crack tip is approached; the interlaminar shear stresses are always maximum at the ply interface, while the interlaminar normal stress may be maximum at the interface or at the laminate center. The in-plane stresses follow a similar distribution and give an average through-thickness stress-intensity factor similar to two-dimensional predictions. The interlaminar stresses show a strong interaction of the crack tip singular and free-edge effects, as well as a strong influence of the degree of biaxiality of the in-plane stresses. The results suggest several aspects of subsequent subcritical crack extension.
Using measurement invariance to study social withdrawal in children with developmental language disorders

Purpose Teacher ratings were used to compare children with developmental language disorders (DLD) and their typically developing peers on 2 subtypes of social withdrawal (shyness and unsociability). Measurement invariance analysis was utilized to determine if teachers rated the 2 groups using the same underlying construct for each of the rating scale items that have been designed to assess withdrawn behavior. Method The Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS; C. H. Hart & Robinson, 1996 ) was administered to the teachers of 173 children with DLD and 182 typically developing children (age range: 5;0-12;11 years;months) to compare 2 subtypes of withdrawal, shyness and unsociability. Measurement invariance analysis was used to establish an appropriate basis for comparing the latent group means and other structural parameters, and partial invariance models were used to compare the groups. Results For the TBRS, shyness and unsociability were measured by 4 and 5 items, respectively. The measurement invariance analysis indicated that classroom teachers approached 1 item on each of these scales using a different underlying construct when rating the 2 groups of children. Taking this into account, the groups were compared. Teachers rated children with DLD as significantly more withdrawn on both shyness and unsociability in comparison with typically developing children. Age and gender were not significant factors. Conclusions When conducting assessments, it should not be assumed that teachers or other raters approach even commonly used rating scale items using the same underlying perception for typically developing children and children with disorders. However, the analysis of invariant items on the TBRS reconfirmed that children with DLD are at risk for social withdrawal as operationalized by assessments of both shyness and unsociability. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7789472.
Norms of Vectors and Matrices

Much work done on computers with vectors and matrices is approximation mathematics, and it is necessary to be able to say when one vector is near another, or when a vector is small, and similarly for matrices. For this purpose the idea of norm was introduced. In most cases the norm of a 1 -dimensional vector or matrix is the absolute value of the number.
Differences in Cardiovascular Risk Factors in College Students: Midwest Versus Southwest.

Purpose:This study was designed to identify underlying cardiovascular risk factors among college students including lifestyle characteristics, health behaviors and knowledge, and perception of the ...
A preliminary survey of anthropogenic gadolinium in water and sediment of a constructed wetland.

Abstract Gadolinium (Gd) is a rare earth element used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents that has recently been identified as an emerging contaminant of concern due to its possible toxic effects and accumulation in the environment. The objectives of this preliminary study were to determine the occurrence and fate of Gd in surface water and sediment of a constructed wetland that receives effluent from a wastewater treatment plant. The rate of anthropogenic Gd entering the wetland was determined to be approximately 25 g Gd day−1, with surface water concentrations in the parts per trillion. Anthropogenic Gd concentrations in surface waters decreased as a function of distance from the inlet site to near the outfall, and were three orders of magnitude higher in sediment than in surface water suggesting that the wetland was providing a sink for Gd possibly through plant uptake and incorporation in organic biomass. An anthropogenic Gd anomaly was observed with an average GdAnt/GdGeo ratio of 5.34. Sediment with higher total organic carbon (TOC) tended to be higher in anthropogenic Gd, suggesting that Gd sequestration may occur through uptake by plants and/or through flocculation and deposition of natural organic matter.
The Influence of Lumbosacral Spine Pathology on Minimum 2-Year Outcome After Hip Arthroscopy: A Nested Case-Control Analysis:

Background:Previous literature has examined the association between lumbosacral pathology and hip pathomechanics. However, the effect of lumbosacral pathologies and previous lumbosacral surgery on ...
NONNEGATIVELY CURVED METRICS ON S 2 ¢ R 2

We classify the complete metrics of nonnegative sectional curvature on M 2 ¢ R 2 , where M 2 is any compact 2-manifold.
Constitutively active androgen receptor supports the metastatic phenotype of endocrine-resistant hormone receptor-positive breast cancer

Hormone receptor positive (HR+) breast cancer (BCa) is the most frequently diagnosed subtype. Acquired and intrinsic resistance to conventional endocrine therapy (ET) commonly occurs and prompts incurable metastatic disease. Hence, ET-resistant (ET-R) HR+ BCa presents a therapeutic challenge. Previous studies show elevated androgen receptor (AR) that supports resistance to ET tamoxifen and correlates with HR+ BCa metastasis. Yet surprisingly, studies with AR-blocker enzalutamide (Enz) in ET-R HR+ BCa present conflicting results. We now report that a constitutively active, unique from canonical Enz-targeted, AR accumulates in endocrine resistant HR+ BCa cells. AR protein profiles in acquired and intrinsic ET-R HR + -BCa were defined with cell-free modification tests, in-house in-vivo SUMOylation assays, and PLA imaging. Genomic activity of native AR and modified-AR mimetic was tested with reporter assays and limited transcriptome analysis. Spheroid growth and migration studies were used to evaluate inhibitory actions of Enz and combinatorial therapy. Sustained higher molecular weight SUMO-modified AR (SUMO-AR) persists in acquired and intrinsic ET-R BCa cell lines. Concurrently, SUMO isoforms and global SUMO-modified proteome also accumulates in the same cell lines. We identified AR as a novel substrate for the SUMO-E3 ligase HSPB1/Hsp27. Independent of ligand, SUMO-AR is resilient to ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation, enriched in the nucleus, readily chromatin-bound, and transcriptionally active. Constitutive SUMO-AR initiates a gene-expression profile that favors epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Enz combined with a SUMO inhibitor attenuates migration and metastatic phenotype of ET-R HR+ BCa. Targeting both unmodified and SUMO-modified AR prevents the metastatic progression of HR+ BCa with ET-R.
Combining Cognitive Modeling and Reinforcement Learning for Clarification in Dialogue

In many domains, dialogue systems need to work collaboratively with users to successfully reconstruct the meaning the user had in mind. In this paper, we show how cognitive models of users’ communicative strategies can be leveraged in a reinforcement learning approach to dialogue planning to enable interactive systems to give targeted, effective feedback about the system’s understanding. We describe a prototype system that collaborates on reference tasks that distinguish arbitrarily varying color patches from similar distractors, and use experiments with crowd workers and analyses of our learned policies to document that our approach leads to context-sensitive clarification strategies that focus on key missing information, elicit correct answers that the system understands, and contribute to increasing dialogue success.
Clinical Characteristics, Respiratory Mechanics, and Outcomes in Critically Ill Individuals With COVID-19 Infection in an Underserved Urban Population.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak in the United States has disproportionately affected Black individuals, but little is known about the factors that underlie this observation. Herein, we describe these associations with mortality in a largely minority underserved population. METHODS: This single-center retrospective observational study included all adult subjects with laboratory-confirmed SARS-Cov-2 treated in our ICU between March 15 and May 10, 2020. RESULTS: 128 critically ill adult subjects were included in the study (median age 68 y [interquartile range 61-76], 45% female, and 64% Black); 124 (97%) required intubation. Eighty (63%) subjects died during their in-patient stay, which did not differ by race/ethnicity. Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, Blacks had a greater proportion of women (52% vs 30%, P = .02) and subjects with hypertension (91% vs 78%, P = .035). Asthma (P = .03) was associated with lower in-patient death, primarily among Black subjects (P = .02). Among Black subjects, increased age (odds ratio 1.06 [95% CI 1.05-1.22] per year), positive fluid balance (odds ratio 1.06 [95% CI 1.01-1.11] per 100 mL), and treatment with tocilizumab (odds ratio 25.0 [95% CI 3.5-180]) were independently associated with in-patient death, while higher platelets (odds ratio 0.65 [95% CI 0.47-0.89] per 50 × 103/mL) and treatment with intermediate dose anticoagulants (odds ratio 0.08 [95% CI 0.02-0.43]) were protective. Among other race/ethnic groups, higher total bilirubin (odds ratio 1.75 [95% CI 0.94-3.25] per 0.2 mg/dL) and higher maximum lactate (odds ratio 1.43 [95% CI 0.96-2.13] per mmol/L) were marginally associated with increased death, while tocilizumab treatment was marginally protective (odds ratio 0.24 [95% CI 0.05-1.25]). During first 72 h of ventilation, those who died had less increase in [Formula: see text] (P = .046) and less reduction in PEEP (P = .01) and [Formula: see text] requirement (P = .002); these patterns did not differ by race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: Black and other race/ethnicity subjects had similar mortality rates due to COVID-19 but differed in factors that were associated with increased risk of death. In both groups, subjects who died were older, had a positive fluid balance, and less improvement in [Formula: see text], PEEP, and [Formula: see text] requirement on ventilation.
Complications of the MANTA closure device. Insights from MAUDE database.

Abstract Background The collagen-based MANTA device (Teleflex, PA, USA) is used for closure of large-bore vascular access . There is a paucity of data on complications associated with its use in a real-life setting. Methods We queried the “Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience” MAUDE database between February 2019 and December 2020 for reports on MANTA device. Results We identified 250 reports in the MAUDE database from February 2019 through December 2020. The most common failure complication of MANTA is persistent bleeding (48.8%) and vessel occlusion or stenosis (29.6%). Most complications were managed successfully with an endovascular approach (48.4%), but a high number of patients required surgical intervention (40.4%). The most commonly reported failure mechanism was the failure of deployment (22%) followed by subcutaneous deployment (7.6%), intraluminal deployment (4.8%) amd detachment of collagen (2.8%). Access site infection was rare (1.2%). The 18 Fr. MANTA was associated with a lower risk of failure of deployment compared with the 14 Fr. device but was associated with a higher risk of vessel occlusion or stenosis (32.4% vs. 16.3%, p = 0.04) and thrombosis (11.6% vs 0%, p = 0.03). Conclusions The most common complication of the MANTA device reported to the MAUDE registry was persistent bleeding (48.8% of reports) followed by vessel occlusion (29.6%). These complications were managed successfully using an endovascular approach in 48.4% of the reports.
Risk Factors and Mortality for Atypical Presentation of COVID-19 Infection in Hospitalized Patients - Lessons From the Early Pandemic

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical epidemiology and outcomes of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who did not experience fever and cough during the early pandemic. METHODS: Retrospective cohort of all patients admitted during March 13, 2020 through May 13, 2020 with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 to 3 tertiary-care hospitals. Patient-level data (demographic, clinical manifestations, comorbid illnesses, inpatient treatment) were analyzed. The main outcome variable was atypical presentation, defined as any hospitalized patient with COVID-19 infection who did not experience both fever and cough. We identified risk factors for atypical presentation on univariate and multivariate analyses and assessed 30-day mortality differences via survival analysis. RESULTS: Of 163 patients in the study, 39 (24%) were atypical. On univariate analysis, atypical cases were significantly more likely to be older, reside in a long-term-care facility (LTCF), and have underlying diabetes mellitus, stroke, or cardiac disease;present without dyspnea or myalgia, have lower C-reactive proteins (CRP) and higher beta-natriuretic peptides. They were less likely to receive intensive care unit care or specific COVID-19 treatments (P < .05). The incidence of acute respiratory failure was not significantly different between the groups. On logistic regression, atypical cases were significantly more likely to be LTCF residents (P = 0.003) and have a lower average CRP (P = 0.01). Atypical cases had significantly higher 30-day mortality (hazard ratio 3.4 [95% CI, 1.6 - 7.2], P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: During the first pandemic surge, COVID-19 patients without inflammatory signs and symptoms were more likely to be LTCF residents and had higher mortality. Timely recognition of these atypical presentations may have prevented spread and improved clinical outcomes.
Using Digital Technologies to Uncover the Geographic Dimension of Tolstoy’s War and Peace

Abstract In a work the size of War and Peace, with its mass of detail, digital mapping can assist in productively visualizing space and movement. This article looks at the geographical movements of three representative characters: Pierre Bezukhov, Helene Bezukhova, and Napoleon Bonaparte. Of these characters, two have fictional geographic journeys constructed by Tolstoy, whereas Napoleon has an historically authenticated journey, used as a point of comparison to reveal how Tolstoy manipulates space in War and Peace. The geographical trajectories of these three characters, though only a small slice of a complicated, broad network of movements, illustrate how space and travel away from centers of meaning and power reflect and assist character development.
Optimizing Coaching During Web-Based Relationship Education for Low-Income Couples: Protocol for Precision Medicine Research.

Background: In-person relationship education classes funded by the federal government tend to experience relatively high attrition rates and have only a limited effect on relationships. In contrast, low-income couples tend to report meaningful gains from web-based relationship education when provided with individualized coach contact. However, little is known about the method and intensity of practitioner contact that a couple requires to complete the web-based program and receive the intended benefit. Objective: The aim of this study is to use within-group models to create an algorithm to assign future couples to different programs and levels of coach contact, identify the most powerful predictors of treatment adherence and gains in relationship satisfaction within 3 different levels of coaching, and examine the most powerful predictors of treatment adherence and gains in relationship satisfaction among the 3 levels of coach contact. Methods: To accomplish these goals, this project intends to use data from a web-based Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial of the OurRelationship and web-based Prevention and Relationship Enhancement programs, in which the method and type of coach contact were randomly varied across 1248 couples (2496 individuals), with the hope of advancing theory in this area and generating accurate predictions. This study was funded by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (grant number 90PD0309). Results: Data collection from the Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial of the OurRelationship and web-based Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program was completed in October of 2020. Conclusions: Some of the direct benefits of this study include benefits to social services program administrators, tailoring of more effective relationship education, and effective delivery of evidence- and web-based relationship health interventions.
More About Integrals

While it may be necessary from time to time to use the computational methods of the last chapter in evaluating integrals, we would prefer other methods if they can be made available. It will be the purpose of this chapter to develop some alternatives to the use of RS sums for the evaluation of integrals. It might be worth listing the result of Example (II.5.4), for this could be the first of a list of formulas that would help.
A framework to explore innovation at SAP through bibliometric analysis of patent applications

We provide an analysis of innovation at SAP using bibliometric analysis of patents.A rotation and sort procedure was applied to the text.A frequent itemset analysis was performed using the word occurrence matrix.A blockmodeling algorithm was applied to explore relatedness between terms.We integrate text and network analysis tools to perform bibliometric analysis. Easily accessible patent databases and advances in technology have enabled the exploration of organizational innovation through the analysis of patent records. However, the textual content of patents presents obstacles to gleaning useful information. In this study, we develop an expert system framework that utilizes text and data mining procedures for analyzing innovation through textual patent data. Specifically, we use patent titles representing the innovation activity at one company (SAP) and perform a bibliometric analysis using our proposed framework. Enterprise software, of which SAP is a pioneering developer, must serve a wide assortment of functions for companies in many different industries. In addition, SAP's sole focus is on enterprise software and it is a market leader in the category with substantial patent activity over the last decade. Using our framework to analyze SAP's patent activity provides a demonstration of how our bibliometric analysis can summarize and identify trends in innovation in a large software company. Our results illustrate that SAP has a breadth of innovative activity spread over the three-tier software engineering architecture and a lack of topical repetition indicative of limited depth. SAP's innovation is also seen to emphasize data management and quickly integrate emerging technologies. Results of an analysis on any company following our framework could be used for a variety of purposes, including: to examine the scope and scale of innovation of an organization, to examine the influence of technological trends on businesses, or to gain insight into corporate strategy that could be used to aid planning, investment, and purchasing decisions.
Role of apoptosis in the growth inhibitory effects of vitamin D in MCF-7 cells.

1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2D3) is the biologically active form of vitamin D, a fat soluble vitamin originally identified as an anti-rachitic factor in the early 1920s. Since that discovery, the molecular pathways by which 1,25(OH)2D3 functions to maintain calcium homeostasis and bone turnover have been intensely investigated. 1,25(OH)2D3 interacts with the vitamin D receptor, which is a member of the steroid/thyroid/retinoic acid superfamily of nuclear receptors, and induces or represses expression of specific genes whose protein products mediate the biological responses attributed to vitamin D. Vitamin D modulated proteins include calcium binding proteins (calbindins D9K, D28K), bone matrix proteins (osteocalcin, osteopontin), digestive enzymes (alkaline phosphatase) and vitamin D metabolizing enzymes (24-hydroxylase). The expression of the vitamin D receptor in tissues not normally involved in calcium homeostasis (such as mammary gland, pancreas and cells of the immune system) suggested additional roles for this hormone, and led to the identification of 1,25(OH)2D3 as a potent regulator of cell differentiation and proliferation. Studies from a number of laboratories have clearly demonstrated that 1,25(OH)2D3 inhibits growth of breast cancer cells in vitro, and causes regression of tumors growing in vivo (1–3), however, the underlying mechanism of the effect of vitamin D has yet to be clarified.
A compact substrate spreading resistance model for SoC

Mixed signal SoC ICs are increasingly being used in commercial products. However, the analog circuits are sensitive to noise which is produced by the digital circuits and propagated by the substrate. In this paper, compact physical 2D and 3D models have been derived for the spreading resistance between multiple contacts within two different substrates. These models can be used to estimate substrate noise.
Fluidics and Cutter Dynamics

An understanding of the physics and engineering principles underlying vitrectomy fluidics and cutter function is essential as we seek to improve outcomes by reducing iatrogenic retinal breaks and facilitate removal of all traction. One of the many challenges facing the vitreoretinal community working in collaboration with engineers developing new systems is the difficulty in moving forward from obsolete, less effective, and potentially higher-risk techniques and parameters. The notion that 20-gauge vitrectomy is the 'gold standard' and should be used for difficult cases is simply wrong. Similarly, the idea that huge flow rates are 'efficient' and beneficial when in fact they cause excessive vitreoretinal traction is a significant issue. The obsolete notion of combining vitrectomy with scleral buckling must be eradicated; patients do not want pain, long procedures, refractive error, or strabismus; vit-buckle outcomes are not better than vitrectomy alone.
Comprehension Monitoring of Written Discourse across Early-to-Middle Adolescence.

Comprehension monitoring is conceptualized as a metacognitive process involving monitoring and control of ongoing discourse processing. The error-detection paradigm was used in an experiment in which 315 7th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students of low-to-high reading ability monitored and controlled their reading as they searched three times through a text. Search One showed that although all readers failed to monitor many problems, monitoring at lexical, syntactic, and particularly semantic levels increased with age and reading ability. Monitoring for low-ability readers remained low at all three grades. Search Two showed an asymmetry in the effects of instruction to search for errors, and some students exhibited constraints on monitoring and control. Finally, Search Three showed that some students had knowledge necessary to monitor more errors but failed to apply that knowledge to the text.
Sarcoplasmic Reticulum XIV. ACETYLPHOSPHATE AND CARBAMYLPHOSPHATE AS ENERGY SOURCES FOR CA++ TRANSPORT

Abstract Acetylphosphate is hydrolyzed by fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum of skeletal muscle serving as energy source for the active transport of calcium. Using 32P-acetylphosphate as substrate, the formation of a protein-bound phosphate compound was observed which is acid stable, sensitive to hydroxylamine, and accumulates to steady state concentrations of 3 to 8 moles per 106 g of protein with 5 mm CaCl2 and to 0.1 to 0.3 moles per 106 g of protein with 5 mm MgCl2 and 0.5 mm ethylene glycol bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetate as activators. The concentration of phosphoprotein is only slightly influenced by K+ and Na+ used alone or in combination, and steady state concentrations are reached within minutes at 25°. Using 32P-acetylphosphate as substrate, unlabeled ATP or ADP effectively reduced the level of protein-bound radioactivity, and inhibited the hydrolysis of acetylphosphate in a manner suggesting competition for the same site. Phosphate transfer from acetyl-32P to ADP yielding AT32P was also observed. The hydrolysis of acetylphosphate by fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum required Mg++ and Ca++, was inhibited by phospholipase C, and was partially reactivated by lysolecithin, suggesting that acetylphosphate promotes Ca++ transport by essentially the same mechanism as ATP. Carbamylphosphate also serves as energy source for Ca++ translocation, although the carbamylphosphatase activity, unlike the hydrolysis of ATP and acetylphosphate, is not activated by Ca++ in the presence of Mg++.