cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of Stability on Scatter Degree Method and the Improvement

We analyze the stability of scatter degree method,which is one of the most popular comprehensive evaluation methods,from two aspects respectively by considering abnormal object and extreme sample using stochastic simulation method,and then obtain some relevant conclusions. On this basis,we present an improved method for scatter degree method by fusing factor analyzing approach into it. Through the analyses of the stochastic simulation example,we can conclude that this improved method for scatter degree method can weaken the interference of outliers to original data. And then,the numerical example illustrates that the improved method can increase the stability of scatter degree method with the consideration of the internal diversity of a same data group. At last,it is pointed that the scatter degree method applies to the questions with fewer independent indicators,while its improved method based on factor analysis is more suitable to the questions in hierarchical structure with more attributes and belonging to different categories.
Connection of University and High School Sports Teaching in China

Researches are made on the reasons for the gaps of physical education between the secondary schools and the universities.Also,teaching recommendations on university physical teachers are proposed so that the physical and cultural quality would be developed.
Water Soluble Cationic Porphyrin Sensor for Detection of Hg2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, and Cu2+

Here we report the sensing properties of the aqueous solution of meso-tetra(N-methyl-4-pyridyl)porphine tetrachloride (1) for simultaneous detection of toxic metal ions by using UV-vis spectroscopy. Cationic porphyrin 1 displayed different electronic absorptions in UV-vis region upon interacting with Hg2
The Fairness Dimension of Takings Jurisprudence

This Article will examine the "fairness" dimension of takings jurisprudence from both the macro and micro perspectives. First, it will show why it is fair to generally strike the balance so that most costs must be borne by landowners. This is termed the macro-fairness issue. Despite the ad hoc nature of current takings analysis, the big picture is clear: most economic costs must be borne by the individual landowner. This is true even when the diminution in property value is fifty percent or more. The second dimension of fairness is the micro-fairness issue. Micro-fairness addresses under what circumstances "fairness and justice" dictate shifting the regulatory cost to the public through just compensation. The Supreme Court assumes fairness concerns are incorporated into the Penn Central balancing test. While this is generally true, this Article explores how the test incorporates fairness, and what types of fairness concerns should direct its application. Whereas the idea of "collective responsibility" largely explains the macro-fairness issue, concerns about "ganging up" and "being blindsided" largely control the micro-fairness issue. This Article's analysis is divided into three parts. Part II will begin by briefly reviewing the development of regulatory takings doctrine. Part III will then look at the macro-fairness issue; why fairness permits and even requires that most costs of land-use restrictions, even substantial ones, be borne by affected landowners rather than shifted to the public. Finally, Part IV will examine micro-fairness concerns and when fairness and justice suggest a regulatory taking has occurred, shifting costs from affected landowners to the public.
Prolonged withdrawal from cocaine self-administration affects prefrontal cortex- and basolateral amygdala-nucleus accumbens core circuits but not accumbens GABAergic local interneurons.

Withdrawal from extended-access cocaine self-administration leads to progressive intensification (‘incubation’) of cocaine craving. After prolonged withdrawal (1–2 months), when craving is high, expression of incubation depends on strengthening of excitatory inputs to medium spiny neurons (MSN) of the nucleus accumbens (NAc). These excitatory inputs interact with the intra-NAc GABAergic ‘microcircuit’, composed of MSN axon collaterals and GABAergic interneurons. Here, we investigated whether the increased glutamatergic neurotransmission observed after prolonged withdrawal is accompanied by altered GABAergic neurotransmission, focusing on NAc core. Rats self-administered cocaine or saline (6 hours/day) and then underwent >40 days of withdrawal. First, we investigated parvalbumin positive (PV+) interneurons, GABAergic fast-spiking interneurons that regulate MSN activity. Immunohistochemical studies revealed no significant change in PV signal intensity or the number of PV+ cells in cocaine rats versus saline controls. We then screened PV and other interneuron markers using immunoblotting. We detected no changes in levels of PV, calretinin, calbindin or neuronal nitric oxide synthase. Because expression of these markers is activity dependent, our results suggest no marked changes in interneuron activity. Finally, we utilized local field potential recording, which can detect GABA-mediated alterations at the circuit level, to investigate potential changes in two circuits implicated in cocaine craving: prelimbic prefrontal cortex to NAc core and basolateral amygdala to NAc core. We detected differential adaptations in these circuits, some of which may involve GABA. Overall, our results suggest that alterations in GABA transmission may accompany incubation of cocaine craving, but they are circuit specific and less pronounced than alterations in glutamate transmission.
The Prisonized Old Head: Intergenerational Socialization and the Fusion of Ghetto and Prison Culture:

Over the last four decades, the United States’ criminal justice system has undergone a historic expansion, which has disproportionately impacted poor urban neighborhoods. The meteoric rise in the p...
Characterization and catalytic tests of Au/MFI prepared by sublimation of AuCl3 onto HMFI

Au/MFI was prepared by sublimation of AuCl3 onto HMFI. The oxidation state of the gold in the as-synthesized sample is Au3+. Upon heating in He or O2, it transforms into gold metal and electron-deficient gold particles which agglomerate to larger Au particles. Reduction of Au3+ with CO to Au+ is accompanied by formation of an Au+(CO) complex. The carbonyl ligand has a remarkable stabilization effect on Au+ ions in zeolite cages. Strong IR bands show the CO vibration, and also the strong perturbation of the T–O–T vibrations of the zeolite lattice. [Au+(CO)]/MFI has a characteristic XRD pattern and is stable up to 200 °C. Au/MFI catalyzes the decomposition of N2O to N2 even in the presence of 3% O2. With hydrocarbons or NH3 as the reductant, it has some NOx reduction activity, but these catalysts deactivate at higher temperature even in inert gas atmosphere.
Global Differential Geometry of 1-Resolvable C∞ Curves in the Plane

A C∞ nonimmersed curve in the Euclidean plane c: S1 → E2 is 1-resolvable if its lift to the orthonormal frame bundle c: S1 → F extends to an immersion. The objective of this paper is to relate the shape of the planar curve with the differential topology of its lift. Specifically, we derive inequalities relating geometric invariants of c with topological invariants of c. The corresponding equalities will identify the simplest 1-resolvable curves.
Resilience to child sexual abuse in male college students

Little is known about men's experiences in the aftermath of child sexual abuse (CSA). Consistent themes from qualitative studies were operationalized and tested for their impact on resilience. For the sample of college-enrolled men (n = 55), the themes of mattering and of traditional male attitudes were not related to resilience, but the theme of gender self-acceptance significantly predicted 23% of the variance in resilience scores. Importantly, the men's perceptions of the CSA events they experienced, whether they described these events as abusive or consensual, were not related to the men's resilience scores. The results indicated that effective counseling approaches to support men's recovery processes differ from those supporting women's recovery. These results suggest that mental health counselors should focus on encouraging male survivors' gender self-acceptance, exploring what it means to be a man in modern society, and examining points of connection with and disconnection from that cultural portrayal.
Human recognition from photoplethysmography (PPG) based on non-fiducial features

Photoplethysmography (PPG) signals have unique identity properties for human recognition, and are becoming easier to capture by emerging IoT sensors. Existing research on PPG-based biometric systems rely on fiducial methods that extract landmarks from the PPG signal as features. This paper investigates non-fiducial methods that operating in a holistic manner that is less sensitive to noise in landmarks. We compare PPG-based human verification of 42 subjects with fiducial and non-fiducial methods (specifically, discrete wavelet transform) and classification using a neural network and support vector machine. The experimental results demonstrate higher test recognition rates for wavelet transform feature extraction. We further improve our results by selecting a subset of features via the genetic algorithm.
Ternary Silver Halide Nanocrystals

ConspectusNanocrystalline silver halides (AgX) such as AgCl, AgBr, and AgI, a class of semiconductor materials with characteristics of both direct and indirect band gaps, represent the most crucial components in traditional photographic processing. The nanocrystal surfaces provide sensitivity specks that can turn into metallic silver, forming an invisible latent image, upon exposure to light. The photographic processing implies that the AgX nanoparticles possess unique properties. First, pristine AgX nanoparticles absorb light only at low efficiency to convert surface AgX into tiny clusters of silver atoms. Second, AgX nanoparticles represent an excellent class of materials to capture electrons efficiently. Third, small metallic silver clusters can catalyze the reduction of AgX nanoparticles to Ag nanoparticles in the presence of mild reducing reagents, known as self-catalytic reduction. These properties indicate that AgX nanoparticles can be partially converted to metallic silver with high precision, lea...
Cell-nonautonomously tunable actomyosin flows orient distinct cell division axes

Cell division axes during animal development are arranged in diverse orientations, but the molecular mechanisms underlying this diversity remain unclear. By focusing on oriented divisions that are independent of known microtubule/dynein pathways, we show here that the non-muscle myosin II motor is an extrinsically tunable force generator that orients cell division axes through cortical actomyosin flows. We identified three extracellular cues that generate different actomyosin flows. A single contact site locally inhibited myosin activity in a mechanosensitive manner to generate local flow asymmetry, while size asymmetry of two contact sites and Wnt signaling both polarized myosin activity and actomyosin flow, with the latter overriding mechanosensitive effects. These intracellular actomyosin flow anisotropies specify distinct division axes to establish the geometries of not only Caenorhabditis elegans 4-, 6-, and 7-cell stage but also mouse 4-cell stage embryos. Tunable actomyosin flows together with microtubule/dynein pathways may specify diverse division axes across species.
The neuroscience of psychopathy and forensic implications

In recent years, there has been an increase in neuroscientific research on psychopathy. This research has important forensic implications, with the potential to inform the development of new treatm...
Systemic blood pressure trends and antihypertensive utilization following continuous-flow left ventricular assist device implantation: an analysis of the interagency registry for mechanically assisted circulatory support

Background: Elevated systemic blood pressure (SBP) has been linked to complications in Continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices (CF-LVADs), including stroke and pump thrombosis. We queried Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (INTERMACS) to describe the response of SBP to CF-LVAD implantation and to delineate contemporary trends in antihypertensive (AH) utilization for patients with these pumps. Methods: We identified all CF-LVAD implantations in patients older than 18 years from 2006–2014, excluding those whose durations were less than 30 days. Pre-implant patient demographics and characteristics were obtained for each record. SBPs [i.e., mean arterial pressures (MAPs)], AH-use data, and vital status were tabulated, extending up to 5 years following implantation. Results: A total of 10,329 CF-LVAD implantations were included for study. Post-implant, SBPs increased rapidly during the first 3 months but plateaued thereafter; AH utilization mirrored this trend. By 6 months, mean MAPs climbed 12.2% from 77.6 mmHg (95% CI: 77.4–77.8) pre-implantation to 87.1 mmHg (95% CI: 86.7–87.4) and patients required a mean of 1.8 AH medications (95% CI: 1.75–1.78) —a 125% increase from AH use at 1-week post-implantation (0.8 AHs/patient, 95% CI: 0.81–0.83) but a 5.3% decrease from pre-implant utilization (1.9 AHs/patient, 95% CI: 1.90–1.92). Once medication changes stabilized, the most common AH regimens were lone beta blockade (15%, n=720) and a beta blocker plus an ACE inhibitor (14%, n=672). Conclusions: SBP rises rapidly after CF-LVAD implantation, stabilizing after 3 months, and is matched by concomitant changes in AH utilization; this AH use has increased over consecutive implant years.
Evaluation of Complications and Costs During Overlapping Transsphenoidal Surgery in the Treatment of Pituitary Adenoma

Background Pituitary adenomas are among the most common primary brain tumors. Recently, overlapping surgery has been curbed in many institutions because of the suggestion there might be more significant adverse events, despite several studies showing that complication rates are equivalent. Objective To assess complications and costs associated with overlapping surgery during the transsphenoidal resection of pituitary adenomas. Methods A single-center, retrospective cohort study was performed to evaluate the cases of patients who underwent a transsphenoidal approach for pituitary tumor resection. Patient, surgical, complication, and cost (value-driven outcome) variables were analyzed. Results A total of 629 patients (302 nonoverlapping, 327 overlapping cases) were identified. No significant differences in age (P = .6), sex (P = .5), tumor type (P = .5), or prior rates of pituitary adenoma resection (P = .5) were seen. Similar presenting symptoms were observed in the 2 groups, and follow-up length was comparable (P = .3). No differences in tumor sizes (P = .5), operative time (P = .4), fat/fascia use (P = .4), or cerebrospinal fluid diversion (P = .8) were seen between groups. The gross total resection rate was not significantly different (P = .9), and no difference in recurrence rate was seen (P = .4). A comparable complication rate was seen between groups (P = .6). No differences in total or subtotal costs were seen either. Conclusion The results of this study offer additional evidence that overlapping surgery does not result in worsened complications, lengthened surgery, or increased patient cost for patients undergoing transsphenoidal resection of pituitary adenomas. Thus, studies and policy aiming to improve patient safety and cost should focus on optimizing other aspects of healthcare delivery.
A Survey of Computing Architectures

In this chapter, we review the computing architectures popularly used in commercial systems. This includes general-purpose processors, graphics processing units and FPGAs. Motivated by the fact that hardware reconfigurable frameworks like FPGAs can significantly benefit energy-efficiency for compute-intensive workloads, we then discuss some well-known hardware reconfigurable architectures. Finally we discuss the scaling challenges for fully-spatial reconfigurable architectures such as FPGAs.
An Apparatus for Creep Crack Growth Testing in Controlled Environments at High Temperatures

Investigating creep crack growth under extreme environmental conditions is a challenging yet essential undertaking for the assessment of structural lifetimes of critical components subjected to extreme working conditions for long periods of time. For example, there is currently a need to evaluate structural materials for Next Generation Nuclear Plants (NGNPs) which will operate very high temperature helium-cooled reactors (VHTRs) for generating electricity and co-generating hydrogen using the process heat from the reactor. The primary helium coolant is expected to operate at temperatures at or above 750 °C. In order to evaluate candidate materials for the intermediate heat exchangers, such as Inconel 617 and Alloy 800H, we have developed a creep crack growth (CCG) test apparatus which was designed to test compact tension specimens at temperatures up to 850 °C in controlled environments, including impure helium environments, following ASTM standard E 1457–07. Details of the design of the CCG apparatus will be discussed.
Epilogue: The Uncut Self

Foucault [1] full circle, not based on the rectilinear frame of reference of a painting, mirror, house, or book, and with neither “inside” nor “outside” but according to the single surface of a Moebius strip. This is not the classical Cartesian model of self, with a vital ensouled res cogitans surrounded by that predictable world of Newtonian mechanisms of the res extensa; it is closer to Maturana and Varela’s conception of autopoiesis, a completely self-making, self-referring, tautologically delimited entity at the various levels of cell, organism, and cognition [2]. It would be premature to accuse us therefore of a debilitating biomysticism, of pandering to deconstructive fashion, or, indeed, of fomenting an academic “lunacy” or “criminality” that merits ostracism from scientific society, smoothly sealed by peer review and by the standards of what Fleck calls a “thought collective” [3]. Nor would it be timely to label and dismiss us as antirational or solipsist.
Abstract 3797: Chromosome instability as a prognostic factor& an immunotherapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia

Chromosome instability (CIN) is an increased rate of chromosome mis-segregation due to errors in mitosis. CIN generates genetic and karyotypic diversity and is common in hematological malignancies. Low to moderate levels of CIN are well tolerated, and moderate levels can promote cancer proliferation by generating genetic diversity for tumor evolution. However, very high levels of CIN are lethal and enhancing CIN can be therapeutic. Therefore, CIN status could be prognostic for clinical outcomes as well as a therapeutic target. Despite its promise, little is known about CIN in AML. We first determined if CIN is correlated with clinical outcome in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We quantified the chromosome mis-segregation frequency (lagging chromosomes and chromatin bridges) in dividing AML cells on bone marrow core biopsies. Our study reveals a wide distribution of CIN in AML core biopsy specimens, ranging from 20% to 67%. High CIN correlates with a better overall survival in patients with AML. Recent data suggest that chromosome mis-segregation promotes senescence and initiates immune clearance. Our hypothesis is that chromosome instability is immunogenic due to DNA damage, proteotoxic/oxidative stress with a high mutagenic potential, which can be recognized by immune system. To test this, we used an inhibitor of Monopolar spindle 1 (Mps1) to enhance CIN and tested if that altered immunogenicity. Mps1 is a key component of the mitotic checkpoint and is also involved with chromosome alignment. Inhibition of Mps1 by AZ3146 results in severe chromosome mis-segregation, micronuclei formation, and apoptosis in AML cell lines. In addition, AZ3146 treatment causes activation of γH2AX due to DNA damage, and calreticulin exposure from endoplasmic reticulum stress. This generates danger signals to activate innate immune system (natural killer cells and dendritic cells) and induces immunogenic cell death (ICD) through priming of cytotoxic T cells. This effect is mainly seen in synchronized mitotic cells, suggesting AZ3146 acts specifically on mitosis. Additionally, we observed the overexpression of programed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) after the treatment of AZ3146 in AML cells. As evidence showed, PD-L1 participates in the immune evasion and protects AML blasts from cytotoxic T cells in mouse models of leukemia. Taken together, our observations in Mps1 inhibitor treatment indicate the immunogenicity of CIN in AML. Additionally, these data support combination treatment of mitotic checkpoint inhibitor with immunotherapy to improve therapeutic efficacy in AML patients. Citation Format: Ning Jin, Mark Burkard. Chromosome instability as a prognostic factor& an immunotherapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3797.
Trends in the characteristics of human functional genomic data on the gene expression omnibus, 2001-2017.

The gene expression omnibus (GEO) is the world’s largest public repository of functional genomic data. Despite its broad use in secondary genomic analyses, the temporal trends in the characteristics of genomic data on GEO, including experimental procedures, geographic origin, funder(s), and related disease, have not been examined. We identified 75,376 Series deposited to the GEO during 2001–2017 and built a database of all human genomic data (39,076 Series, 51.8% of all Series). Using the associated publications, we obtained funding information and identified the related disease area. Of the Series with classified disease areas, the two most common were cancer (n = 12,688, 32.5%) and immunologic diseases (n = 2,393, 6.1%), while the percentages of all other disease areas were below 5%, including neurological diseases (n = 1733, 4.4%), infectious diseases (n = 1225, 3.1%), diabetes (n = 828, 2.1%), and cardiovascular diseases (n = 299, 0.8%). In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the use of high-throughput sequencing (HTS), protein array and multiple-platform technologies, as well as in the proportion of North American deposits. Compared to those from other regions, North American deposits appeared to lead the shift from array-based to HTS technologies (odds ratio [OR], 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 3.39, 3.23–3.55, P = 9.40E−323), and were less likely to focus on a major disease area (OR = 0.64, 95% CI: 0.61–0.67, P = 5.02E−107), suggesting a greater emphasis on basic science in North America. Furthermore, the Series utilizing HTS were less likely to be disease-classified compared to other technologies (OR = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.37–0.41, P = 1.00E−322), suggesting a preferential use or adoption of HTS in basic science settings. Finally, funding from the NHGRI, NCI, NIEHS, and NCCR resulted in a higher number of GEO Series per grant than other NIH institutes, demonstrating different preferences on genomic studies among awardees of NIH institutes. Our findings demonstrate geographic, technological, and funding disparities in the trends of GEO deposit characteristics. This study outlines the trends in human-genomic deposits in the gene expression omnibus (GEO). The authors found that there were significant increases in the use of high-throughput sequencing, protein array and multiple-platforms, and in the proportion of North-American deposits. Unclassified diseases, cancer and immunological diseases dominated GEO deposits. There was also geographic disparity in the trends of GEO deposit characteristics.
Impact of Symptom Reporting Agreement on Interdisciplinary Pain Program Participation

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether physician-patient agreement of potential patient problem areas impacts subsequent patient enrollment in an interdisciplinary pain management program. DESIGN Retrospective chart review of 544 patients who underwent evaluation of their chronic pain. Physicians and their patients endorsed perceived patient problems during the evaluation. The potential problems included 7 clinical domains: pain, sleep, mood, physical functioning, ability to cope with pain, ability to manage pain flare-ups, and pain medication effectiveness. RESULTS Results indicated statistically significant levels of agreement among the physicians and their patients (free-marginal kappa range, 0.19 to 0.94, P's 0.05). Patients recommended for higher-intensity programs were perceived by their evaluating physician to have a significantly greater number of problematic clinical domains than those recommended for less intense pain programs. CONCLUSION The level of physician-patient agreement regarding the patients' current difficulties did not appear to influence patients' decisions to participate in interdisciplinary pain management. Extraneous, nonclinical factors may have had a greater impact on participation in interdisciplinary pain management than physician-patient agreement. Future research should focus on identifying these factors and their impact. Also, studying the impact of physician-patient agreement beyond enrollment status (eg, on successful program completion) may be helpful in potentially enhancing patient outcomes.
The q-unit circle: The unit circle in prime characteristics and its properties

Abstract We define the unit circle for global function fields. We demonstrate that this unit circle, endearingly termed the q-unit circle (pronounced “cue-nit”), after the finite field F q of q elements, enjoys all of the properties akin to the classical unit circle: center, curvature, roots of unity in completions, integrality conditions, embedding into a finite-dimensional vector space over the real line, a partition of the ambient space into concentric circles, Mobius transformations, a Dirichlet approximation theorem, a reciprocity law, and much more. In addition, we extend the polynomial exponential action of Carlitz to an action by all points on the real line; we show that mutually tangent horoballs solve a Descartes-type relation arising from reciprocity; we define the hyperbolic plane, which we prove is uniquely determined by the q-unit circle; and we give the associated modular forms and Eisenstein series.
Discontinuing involuntary mental health holds for children: Does psychiatrist specialty matter? A pilot study.

Abstract Background Involuntary mental health detainments should only be utilized when less restrictive alternatives are unavailable and should be discontinued as soon as safety can be ensured. The study objective was to determine if child and adolescent psychiatrists discontinue a greater proportion of involuntary holds than general psychiatrists for similar pediatric patients. Methods Retrospective analysis of consecutive patients under 18 years placed on an involuntary hold in the prehospital setting presenting over a 1-year period to one high-volume emergency department (ED) where youth on involuntary holds are seen by child and adolescent psychiatrists when available and general psychiatrists otherwise. The primary outcome of interest was hold discontinuation after initial psychiatric consultation. The key predictor of interest was psychiatrist specialty (child and adolescent vs. general). We conducted multivariate logistic regression modeling adjusting for patient characteristics and time of arrival. Results Child and adolescent psychiatrists discontinued 27.4% (51/186) of prehospital holds while general psychiatrists discontinued only 10.6% (22/207). After adjusting for observable confounders, holds were over 3 times as likely to be discontinued in patients evaluated by child and adolescent psychiatrists rather than general emergency psychiatrists (adjusted OR 3.2, 95% CI 1.7–5.9, p Conclusions Child and adolescent psychiatrists are much more likely to discontinue prehospital involuntary mental health holds compared with general emergency psychiatrists. While inappropriate hold discontinuation places patients at risk of harm, prolonged hold continuation limits patients' rights and potentially increases psychiatric boarding in EDs. Earlier access to child and adolescent psychiatry may facilitate early hold discontinuation and standardize patient care.
Immune Recovery after Timed Sequential Therapy in Acute Myelogenous Leukemia: Discordant Recovery of Naïve T Lymphocytes and Antigen Driven Regulatory T Cells.

Abstract Patients who demonstrate a rapid but limited initial lymphocyte recovery following therapy have a significantly better response rate than patients where lymphocyte recovery is markedly delayed. Timed sequential therapy (TST) is a cell cycle dependent based approach for curative therapeutic potential in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Recovery of T cells in this setting can be due to thymic dependent T cell development or as a consequence of directed (antigen) expansion of effector T lymphocytes. The present studies evaluated immunological reconstitution of 26 AML patients following induction or consolidation TST. Thirteen patients received cytarabine, daunorubicin and etoposide (AcDVP-16) induction therapy, 3 patients received cytarabine, daunorubicin and cytarabine (AcDAc) and 10 patients received flavopiridol, cytarabine and mitoxantrone (FLAM) either as induction or consolidation therapy. Peripheral blood lymphocytes were collected during the initial phase of white blood cell reconstitution (>200 cells/ cu mm). Lymphocyte Recovery preceded that of myeloid elements (median of day 24 versus day 30) with peak lymphocyte counts ranging from 300–1800 and a median of 650 cells/cu mm. Multi-color flow cytometric analysis revealed recovery of CD4, CD8 and NK cells with the CD3+CD4+:CD3+CD8+ ratio averaging 4.5:1 (range 1:1– 8:1). Assessment of T cell recombinant excision circles (TREC's) suggested that a significant proportion of the T cells (median 40,000 copies per 100,000 cells; range 100 – 100,000 copies) were recent thymic emigrants. Somewhat surprisingly, there was a significant expansion of the CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cell compartment (median 5.1%; range 2.5 – 12.3%). To examine whether the expansion of this T cell compartment cells was due to endogenous thymic output or developed by homeostatic mechanisms, CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells isolated flow cytometrically were assessed for TREC's and by spectratyping for Vb T cell receptor gene utilization. The results revealed that the majority (>90%) of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells did not express TREC's and therefore, did not recently emigrate from the thymus. Moreover, there was a marked oligoclonal skewing as defined by a limited Vb T cell receptor repertoire suggesting expansion did not occur by a non-specific, global homeostatic. In contrast, the repertoire of the non-regulatory T cell compartment (CD4, CD8) was unbiased. These results suggest that the expansion of the CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cell compartment is either driven by antigen or by restricted homeostatic mechanisms. The lack of significant, correlative levels of typical homeostatic cytokines (i.e., IL-2, IL-7; Bioplex analysis) may provide an environment where CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells can only be driven to expand by antigenic stimulation. The continued presence of antigen driven regulatory T cells may impede the successful deployment of immunologically directed anti-tumor strategies.
Incidence rates of cardiovascular outcomes in a community-based population of cancer patients.

Background There are limited data on the incidence of cardiovascular disease among cancer patients in the pre-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) era. Such data are important in order to contextualize the incidence of various cardiovascular outcomes among cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials of new agents and for postmarketing surveillance. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) population of cancer patients. The inclusion criterion was a KPNC Cancer Registry diagnosis of any of several selected solid and hematologic tumors between 1997 and 2009 not treated with a TKI. Endpoints were identified using ICD-9 codes and included acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, stroke, cardiac arrest, hypertension, venous thromboembolism, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality. Event rates were calculated according to type of cancer and number of cardiovascular risk factors. Results The study included almost 165 000 individuals with a broad variety of tumor types. The parent cohort was 54% female and 35% were ≥70 years old. Cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes mellitus (14% of patients with solid tumors, 15% of patients with liquid tumors), dyslipidemia (33%, 31%), hypertension (50%, 49%), and smoking (35%, 32%) were common. The most frequent adverse outcomes were incident hypertension (26.8-61.0 cases per 1000 person-years, depending on the type of cancer), heart failure (9.4-78.7), and acute coronary syndrome (2.6-48.1). These event rates are high compared to what has been reported in prior KPNC cohort studies of patients without cancer. The rates of acute coronary syndrome, heart failure, and ischemic stroke increased with increasing numbers of cardiovascular risk factors. Conclusions In a population of patients with cancer not exposed to TKIs, cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes are very common, regardless of cancer type. These data can inform the evaluation of potential excess cardiovascular risks from new interventions.
Evaluation and acceptance of mobile‐electrocardiogram use in implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients – Can I see my ECG?

BACKGROUND Medical technologies for consumers aim to help prevent, manage, and even forecast cardiovascular events, but their emotional impact is not fully known. The value of mobile-electrocardiogram (mECG) technology to an existing group of cardiac patients is unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of readily available mECG capability for a sample of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients. METHODS Patients with ICDs (N = 51) were recruited and consented in a large academic cardiology clinic. Participants were given a mECG device and asked to take a 30-ss reading at least once per day for 30 days. Technology satisfaction, cardiac anxiety, shock anxiety, and ICD device acceptance were measured pre- and post-mECG usage. RESULTS mECG technology was regularly used (M = 36.6 readings completed per month) and positively appraised by ICD patients (mean of 4.4 out of possible 5). Self-reported symptoms of general cardiac anxiety were not significantly affected by the utilization of mECG technology. ICD specific measures were mixed with increased overall ICD device acceptance but also increased shock anxiety. CONCLUSIONS ICD patients positively viewed and used mECG technology regularly as prescribed. However, the overall psychological impact of mECG was mixed and suggests that ICD patients may have idiosyncratic adjustments to the increased access of cardiac device data.
Introduction of Clinical Pathways in Orthopedic Surgical Care: The Experience of the Hospital for Special Surgery

Clinical pathways are structured multidisciplinary care plans which address specific clinical scenarios which help to standardize and coordinate care. Clinical pathways are evidence based incorporating proven best practice but ideally can be adopted to any given hospital environment and culture. Clinical pathways aim to optimize the quality and efficiency of care. These care plans must address pre-hospital preparation, the in-hospital care, and the post-hospital discharge. The patient experience can be optimized leading to improved overall patient satisfaction. The care plan must be focused on the patient experience primarily. Managing patient expectations through pre-hospitalization education and counseling is a key element of success. Adoption of clinical pathways demands physician championship which is best achieved by recording and providing feedback on outcomes following adoption of the new care plans. In high-volume clinical settings adoption of standardized care plans known as clinical pathways can improve patient outcomes and safety and provide for more efficient and satisfying care. The creation of clinical pathways should be based multidisciplinary involving all members of the healthcare team. Each hospital should design clinical pathways based on their unique environment and should be specific to patients undergoing particular medical procedures. Through rigorous planning and following of procedures in clinical pathways, hospitals are able to decrease the incidence of complications and length of stay, improve budget planning, and much more. Following implementation all clinical pathways must be routinely monitored for success and for modification to ensure that best clinical practices are represented and that continuous process improvement is assured.
MLB’s Neocolonial Practices in the Dominican Republic Academy System:

This essay investigates the early stages of the Major League Baseball (MLB) pipeline by focusing on the Dominican academy system. Once an international player is signed to a professional contract, ...
Collapsing dubiously resolved gene-tree branches in phylogenomic coalescent analyses.

Abstract In two-step coalescent analyses of phylogenomic data, gene-tree topologies are treated as fixed prior to species-tree inference. Although all gene-tree conflict is assumed to be caused by lineage sorting when applying these methods, in empirical datasets much of the conflict can be caused by estimation error. Weakly supported and even arbitrarily resolved clades are important sources of this estimation error for gene trees inferred from few informative characters relative to the number of sampled terminals, and the resulting extraneous conflict among gene trees can negatively impact species-tree inference. In this study, we quantified the relative severity of alternative methods for collapsing gene-tree branches for seven empirical datasets and quantified their effects on species-tree inference. The branch-collapsing methods that we employed were based on the strict consensus of optimal topologies, various bootstrap thresholds, and 0% approximate likelihood ratio test (SH-like aLRT) support. Up to 86% of internal gene-tree branches are dubiously or arbitrarily resolved in reanalyses of these published phylogenomic datasets, and collapsing these branches increased inferred species-tree coalescent branch lengths by up to 455%. For two datasets, the longer inferred branch lengths sometimes impacted inference of anomaly-zone conditions. Although branch-collapsing methods did not consistently affect the species-tree topology, they often increased branch support. The more severe and clearly justified gene-tree branch-collapsing methods, which we recommend be broadly applied for two-step coalescent analyses, are use of the strict consensus in parsimony analyses and the collapse clades with 0% SH-like aLRT support in likelihood analyses. Collapsing dubiously or arbitrarily resolved branches in gene trees sometimes improved congruence between coalescent-based results and concatenation trees. In such cases, we contend that the resolution provided by concatenation should be preferred and that incomplete lineage sorting is a poor explanation for the initial conflict between phylogenetic approaches.
Emergency department physical therapy: An important tool for emergency physicians.

A collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to medical care has become increasingly common place in modern medicine. Often part of this multidisciplinary team, especially in the inpatient setting, are physical therapists (PT). PT education and training provide useful insight into techniques to improve patients' physical functionality and reduce pain. They often provide patients with the education on how to participate in their own treatment and equip them with the tools for self-care outside of the hospital or clinic setting.
Situational analysis as a critical methodology: mapping the tourism system in post-Katrina New Orleans

Tourism development in the United States and globally is deeply rooted in hypercapitalist strategies and influenced by neoliberal conditions which prioritize economic development often to the detriment of those living and working in tourism destinations. The tourism workforce is a major entity sustaining the day to day operations of the tourism system, yet it remains underexplored. The COVID-19 global pandemic has only strengthened the argument for the need to prioritize the social—or person—aspect of sustainable tourism. Critical qualitative methods such as situational analysis combined with theoretical perspectives like critical race theory can provide methodological tools to expose and re-envision privatized constructions of sustainable tourism. In this article, we describe possibilities for using critical situational analysis to examine a broad range of complex conditions and provide examples of situational mapping from a study focusing on disaster capitalism and the use of tourism development as a strategy in post-Katrina New Orleans. We then offer possibilities for using situational analysis as critical qualitative inquiry moving forward. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Abstract 3095: Targeting ALDH1A1 and regulatory networks that support stemness in ovarian cancer cells

Epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is the deadliest amongst gynecologic cancers with the majority of deaths caused by cancer recurrence. A new paradigm explaining tumor relapse involves the persistence of cancer stem cells after chemotherapy. OC stem cells (OCSCs) are hypothesized to be largely responsible for the emergence of chemoresistant tumors, and we have previously shown that OCSCs contribute to recurrent, drug resistant high-grade serous OC (HGSOC) using ALDH (aldehyde dehydrogenase) activity as a robust functional marker to identify OCSCs. Of the ALDH isoforms, ALDH1A1 is an intracellular enzyme that oxidizes toxic aldehydes to carboxylic acids and plays a role in controlling cell differentiation pathways. High levels of ALDH1A1 expression have been associated with poor outcome in OC patients. Our group and others have demonstrated that OCSCs with high expression of ALDH1A1 have a greater ability to initiate ovarian tumors in vivo. However, the mechanism by which ALDH1A1 maintains stemness phenotype remains poorly understood. In the current study, we hypothesized that ALDH1A1 upregulation in OCSCs was associated with genetic changes that mediate the cellular signals needed for survival. To test this hypothesis, we used a novel ALDH1A1-specific small molecule inhibitor named compound 974. Treatment of HGSOC cell lines with compound 974 reduced ALDH enzyme activity (p Citation Format: Vaishnavi Muralikrishnan, Kenneth P. Nephew, Thomas D. Hurley. Targeting ALDH1A1 and regulatory networks that support stemness in ovarian cancer cells [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 3095.
Wearable Sensors: Fundamentals, Implementation and Applications, 2nd ed.

This text is a well-referenced fairly comprehensive overview of the current state of the art involving wearable sensors and relevant applications in (mainly) human health monitoring in applications from medicine to sports. The text is organized into six sections containing a total of 22 chapters contributed by some 78(!) researchers from 13 countries. It is aimed at “Practicing engineers in the area of medical and wearable devices, academic researchers, undergraduate and graduate students.” A review of the text, by sections, follows.
Diel-Regulated Transcriptional Cascades of Microbial Eukaryotes in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

Open-ocean surface waters host a diverse community of single-celled eukaryotic plankton (protists) consisting of phototrophs, heterotrophs, and mixotrophs. The productivity and biomass of these organisms oscillate over diel cycles, and yet the underlying transcriptional processes are known for few members of the community. Here, we examined a 4-day diel time series of transcriptional abundance profiles for the protist community (0.2-100 μm in cell size) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre near Station ALOHA. De novo assembly of poly-A+ selected metatranscriptomes yielded over 30 million contigs with taxonomic and functional annotations assigned to 54 and 25% of translated contigs, respectively. The completeness of the resulting environmental eukaryotic taxonomic bins was assessed, and 48 genera were further evaluated for diel patterns in transcript abundances. These environmental transcriptome bins maintained reproducible temporal partitioning of total gene family abundances, with haptophyte and ochrophyte genera generally showing the greatest diel partitioning of their transcriptomes. The haptophyte Phaeocystis demonstrated the highest proportion of transcript diel periodicity, while most other protists had intermediate levels of periodicity regardless of their trophic status. Dinoflagellates, except for the parasitoid genus Amoebophrya, exhibit the fewest diel oscillations of transcript abundances. Diel-regulated gene families were enriched in key metabolic pathways; photosynthesis, carbon fixation, and fatty acid biosynthesis gene families had peak times concentrated around dawn, while gene families involved in protein turnover (proteasome and protein processing) are most active during the high intensity daylight hours. TCA cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid degradation predominantly peaked near dusk. We identified temporal pathway enrichments unique to certain taxa, including assimilatory sulfate reduction at dawn in dictyophytes and signaling pathways at early evening in haptophytes, pointing to possible taxon-specific channels of carbon and nutrients through the microbial community. These results illustrate the synchrony of transcriptional regulation to the diel cycle and how the protist community of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre structures their transcriptomes to guide the daily flux of matter and energy through the gyre ecosystem.
Dechlorination Apparatus for Treating Chloride Salt Wastes: System Evaluation and Scale-Up

This paper describes an apparatus used to remove chlorine from chloride salt-based nuclear wastes from electrochemical reprocessing and/or chloride-based molten salt reactors (MSRs) through dechlor...
The Human Pain System: Experimental and Clinical Perspectives

Foreword 1. Historical review of studies of pain in primates 2. Nociceptors, spinal pathways, brainstem and forebrain terminations 3. Physiology of cells of origin of spinal and brainstem pathways 4. Physiology of forebrain pain-related structures 5. Imaging of sensory and affective components of acute pain 6. Pain modulatory systems including ascending and descending connections 7. Peripheral and central manifestations and mechanisms of chronic pain and sensitization 8. Imaging of sensory and affective components of chronic pain and sensitization 9. Functional implications of spinal and forebrain procedures for the treatment of chronic pain Index.