cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improving Delivery of a Biomaterial Payload in Myocardial Infarction

Survival after an acute coronary syndrome has greatly improved because of advances in thrombolytic therapy, stabilization of the culprit lesion such as with coronary stents, and the use of pharmacological approaches to prevent recurrent thrombotic and arrhythmic events. Despite these approaches, however, myocardial injury culminating in myocardial infarction (MI) continues to be an all too common sequela. The MI region is a highly heterogeneous structure that contains several cell types, such as residual cardiac myocytes, inflammatory cells of different lineages, proliferating and transdifferentiating fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix proteins and signaling molecules. Although canonical thought was that the MI region was a rather static, fibrotic structure, it is now clear that this is a dynamic and ever-evolving entity with changes in geometry, biophysical properties, and cellular/extracellular composition. The time course and extent of these post-MI processes have been generically termed post-MI remodeling and is recognized as a milestone event for the initiation and progression to left ventricular (LV) dilation and dysfunction. One ubiquitous feature of post-MI remodeling is a progressive thinning and dyskinesia of the MI region, which is because of the summation of several factors: a loss of cardiac myocytes and thus functional myocardium, continuous turnover and instability of the extracellular matrix, and significant shifts in stress–strain patterns within this region throughout the cardiac cycle. Specifically, significant heterogeneity arises in the stress–strain patterns both within and surrounding the MI region and in turn can contribute to a feed-forward process of continuous activation of bioactive molecules and extracellular matrix instability. These biomechanical changes result in continued MI thinning and recruitment of border zone myocardium into the MI region, which is defined as MI expansion. As the MI expansion process continues in an inexorable fashion, the degree of heterogeneity in stress–strain relations are exacerbated, bulging of the MI region becomes evident by …
Urinary continence outcomes following vaginoplasty in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia

Summary Background Feminizing genitoplasty techniques have diversified to encompass the spectrum of atypical genitalia in 46,XX congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) patients. However, long-term outcomes evaluating postoperative continence following complex vaginoplasty remain scarce. Objective The aim was to review our surgical experience and assess postoperative urinary continence outcomes in CAH patients following complex, primary vaginoplasty. Study design We retrospectively reviewed CAH patients who underwent complex, primary vaginoplasty at a single center by a single surgeon from 1996 to 2013. We collected data on clinical characteristics, surgical techniques and postoperative urinary continence outcomes. In patients who had reached toilet-training age, continence outcomes were reviewed. Results Twenty-four patients met the inclusion criteria. The median age at the time of surgery was 8 months (interquartile range [IQR] 1 year–6 months). The median length of follow up was 6 years (IQR 10 years–3 years). These patients required complex reconstruction because of more extensive virilization: total urogenital mobilization (TUM, 10), pull-through vaginoplasty (9), partial urogenital mobilization (3), or pull-through vaginoplasty with partial urogenital mobilization (2). After surgery, 15 out of 24 (62.5%) reported age appropriate toilet-training without further complaints. Seven (29.2%) patients reported daytime incontinence or enuresis that resolved with conservative management. Two patients reported day and night incontinence requiring urethral bulking procedures following TUM. Discussion Twenty-two (91.7%) of our patients achieved continence without further surgical intervention. Of these patients, the TUM patients had serious incontinence issues. Our study represents a review of clinically significant cases from the female CAH population. The limitations of our study include a relatively small sample size and retrospective design. Conclusion Females with CAH and urogenital virilization most often achieved age appropriate toilet-training following vaginoplasty. Daytime incontinence and enuresis resolved without operative management in the vast majority of cases. TUM carries a risk of severe incontinence and may require further procedures to achieve urinary continence. Table . Comparison of vaginoplasty techniques according to presurgical measurements of urogenital sinus and urethra, and postoperative urinary continence outcomes. Vaginoplasty Technique No. Urogenital Sinus Length (cm) Mean ± SD Urethral Length (cm) Mean ± SD Continence Enuresis Voiding Postponement Dysfunctional Voiding Continuous Incontinence Total Urogenital Mobilization 10 2.1 ± 0.6 1.7 ± 0.4 4 2 1 1 2 Pull-through 9 2.7 ± 1.0 1.4 ± 0.7 7 1 1 0 0 Partial Urogenital Mobilization 3 2 ± 0 2.1 ± 0.1 3 0 0 0 0 Pull-through with Partial Urogenital Mobilization 2 2.1 ± 1.0 1.6 ± 0 1 1 0 0 0
How Do I Set Up a Stone Clinic

A comprehensive stone center can effectively manage complex urinary stone disease with the right tools. A collaborative team that includes a Urologist, a Nephrologist, a Dietician and a mid-level practitioner is optimal. The center should coordinate with an efficient and convenient laboratory to provide point-of-care and at home services. Imaging capabilities must be convenient and suitable to detect metabolic stone activity. Initial and follow-up visits should be directed at determining metabolic derangements, understanding the level of stone activity, and assuring adequate response to medical management.
Uptake of Enteropathogenic Yersinia by Mammalian Cells

The enteropathogenic Yersinia are two gram-negative bacterial species related to the causative agent of bubonic plague, Yersinia pestis. Yersinia enterocolitica causes a variety of intestinal diseases as well as mesenteric lymphadenitis, with outbreaks occurring primarily in cold-weather climates (Anderson et al. 1991; Tripoli et al. 1990). The most notable characteristic of Y. enterocolitica infections is that mild or inapparent bacterial infections may trigger a number of autoimmune disorders (Saario et al. 1992; Toivanen et al. 1993). These include thyroiditis and reactive arthritis, particularly in individuals harboring the HLA B27 histocompatibility allele (Maki et al. 1991; Toivanen and Toivanen 1994; Tomer and Davies 1993; Wenzel et al. 1991). Y. pseudotuberculosis causes enteric diseases and associated complications very similar to those seen with Y. enterocolitica (Fukushima 1991; Fukushima et al. 1990; Stahlberg et al. 1987).
Designing Online Asynchronous Information Literacy Instruction Using the ADDIE Model

Abstract To accommodate information literacy instruction for a large undergraduate population in the face of declining faculty and staff numbers, the University of South Florida Tampa Library’s instruction team embarked on a program to transition the first-year composition program to a series of online, course-embedded instructional modules. After reviewing several design models, the team selected the ADDIE model for instructional design and development. Ultimately, the team produced four interactive, asynchronous information literacy modules that allow students to access and complete at their own pace and at the time and location they desire.
Comment on Cefalu et al. Update and Next Steps for Real-World Translation of Interventions for Type 2 Diabetes Prevention: Reflections From a Diabetes Care Editors’ Expert Forum. Diabetes Care 2016;39:1186–1201

The 2016 Diabetes Care Editors’ Expert Forum on the prevention of type 2 diabetes is both welcome and timely (1). Prevention of type 2 diabetes is not a routine therapeutic goal in clinical practice despite the 1 ) increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes, 2 ) large numbers of at-risk individuals with prediabetes and/or metabolic syndrome, and 3 ) presence of interventions for effective disease prevention. The only way to stem the rising rates of type 2 diabetes is prevention, and the authors have reviewed copious evidence demonstrating that lifestyle therapy and medications approved for diabetes can effectively delay or prevent progression to type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, there are no medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for type 2 diabetes prevention. The value of this forum is to call attention to this important clinical need and to consider approaches for a more concerted effort toward diabetes prevention. The forum, however, has two shortcomings. First, there was a relative lack of emphasis on medication-assisted weight loss as a …
A Mobile Clinical Decision Support Tool for Pediatric Cardiovascular Risk-Reduction Clinical Practice Guidelines: Development and Description.

Background: Widespread application of research findings to improve patient outcomes remains inadequate, and failure to routinely translate research findings into daily clinical practice is a major barrier for the implementation of any evidence-based guideline. Strategies to increase guideline uptake in primary care pediatric practices and to facilitate adherence to recommendations are required. Objective: Our objective was to operationalize the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents into a mobile clinical decision support (CDS) system for healthcare providers, and to describe the process development and outcomes. Methods: To overcome the difficulty of translating clinical practice guidelines into a computable form that can be used by a CDS system, we used a multilayer framework to convert the evidence synthesis into executable knowledge. We used an iterative process of design, testing, and revision through each step in the translation of the guidelines for use in a CDS tool to support the development of 4 validated modules: an integrated risk assessment; a blood pressure calculator; a body mass index calculator; and a lipid management instrument. Results: The iterative revision process identified several opportunities to improve the CDS tool. Operationalizing the integrated guideline identified numerous areas in which the guideline was vague or incorrect and required more explicit operationalization. Iterative revisions led to workable solutions to problems and understanding of the limitations of the tool. Conclusions: The process and experiences described provide a model for other mobile CDS systems that translate written clinical practice guidelines into actionable, real-time clinical recommendations. [JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2017;5(3):e29]
Managing Infections in Cardiac Transplantation

While the prevention of rejection is crucial for long-term survival, the immunosuppressants that prevent rejection also have the side effect of compromising the immune system of the recipient. As a result, cardiac transplant recipients are at risk for many opportunistic infections, as well as reactivation of latent infections. This chapter aims to provide an overview of the management of infections in cardiac transplantation, including donor and recipient pre-transplant screening, general prophylaxis and infection prevention, an overview of the most common pathogens, and general clinical approaches to infection in the cardiac transplant recipient.
Correlation Dimension as a Proxy for the Number of Parameters Required to Model Risk of Groundwater Arsenic Contamination: An Assessment Using Ordinary Logistic Regression

The Correlation Dimension (CD) of an attractor provides information on the number of variables present in its non-linear deterministic variability. In this study we demonstrate a physical connection between the CD and the mathematical modeling of risk of arsenic contamination in groundwater using Ordinary Logistic Regression (OLR). Our database comprised the nation-wide arsenic survey completed in 1999 by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in collaboration with the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE) in Bangladesh, wherein, Hossain and Sivakumar (2005) reported CD values ranging anywhere from 8 to 11 for shallow aquifers (depth < 150 m) depending on the region and geology. Using 12 physically meaningful parameters from the universal set of variables that define the geo-chemical regime of aquifers and hence arsenic concentration, we demonstrate that CD is a reliable proxy for the minimum number of parameters required in the OLR model to accurately predict arsenic contamination at non-sampled wells. To the best of our knowledge, this work represents the very first attempt to inject non-linear deterministic paradigms in the linear stochastic modeling of the risk of arsenic contamination in shallow aquifers of Bangladesh.
Xscreen 1968: material film aesthetics and radical cinema politics

In 1967 at the fourth exprmntl film festival in Knokke Belgium, a group of German activist film students led by Harun Farocki sought to disrupt screenings with politically engaged happenings. Rejec...
Socioeconomic Status and Race Outperform Concussion History and Sport Participation in Predicting Collegiate Athlete Baseline Neurocognitive Scores.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of socioeconomic status (SES) and other multivariate predictors to baseline neurocognitive functioning in collegiate athletes. Methods: Data were obtained from the Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium. Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) baseline assessments for 403 University of Florida student-athletes (202 males; age range: 18–23) from the 2014–2015 and 2015–2016 seasons were analyzed. ImPACT composite scores were consolidated into one memory and one speed composite score. Hierarchical linear regressions were used for analyses. Results: In the overall sample, history of learning disability (β=−0.164; p=.001) and attention deficit–hyperactivity disorder (β=−0.102; p=.038) significantly predicted worse memory and speed performance, respectively. Older age predicted better speed performance (β=.176; p<.001). Black/African American race predicted worse memory (β=−0.113; p=.026) and speed performance (β=−.242; p<.001). In football players, higher maternal SES predicted better memory performance (β=0.308; p=.007); older age predicted better speed performance (β=0.346; p=.001); while Black/African American race predicted worse speed performance (β=−0.397; p<.001). Conclusions: Baseline memory and speed scores are significantly influenced by history of neurodevelopmental disorder, age, and race. In football players, specifically, maternal SES independently predicted baseline memory scores, but concussion history and years exposed to sport were not predictive. SES, race, and medical history beyond exposure to brain injury or subclinical brain trauma are important factors when interpreting variability in cognitive scores among collegiate athletes. Additionally, sport-specific differences in the proportional representation of various demographic variables (e.g., SES and race) may also be an important consideration within the broader biopsychosocial attributional model. (JINS, 2018, 24, 1–10)
Superposed epoch analysis of physiological fluctuations: possible space weather connections

There is a strong connection between space weather and fluctuations in technological systems. Some studies also suggest a statistical connection between space weather and subsequent fluctuations in the physiology of living creatures. This connection, however, has remained controversial and difficult to demonstrate. Here we present support for a response of human physiology to forcing from the explosive onset of the largest of space weather events—space storms. We consider a case study with over 16 years of high temporal resolution measurements of human blood pressure (systolic, diastolic) and heart rate variability to search for associations with space weather. We find no statistically significant change in human blood pressure but a statistically significant drop in heart rate during the main phase of space storms. Our empirical findings shed light on how human physiology may respond to exogenous space weather forcing.
On lattice generation for large vocabulary speech recognition

Lattice generation is an essential feature of the decoder for many speech recognition applications. In this paper, we first review lattice generation methods for WFST-based decoding and describe in a uniform formalism two established approaches for state-of-the-art speech recognition systems: the phone pair and the N-best histories approaches. We then present a novel optimization method, pruned determinization followed by minimization, that produces a deterministic minimal lattice that retains all paths within specified weight and lattice size thresholds. Experimentally, we show that before optimization, the phone-pair and the N-best histories approaches each have conditions where they perform better when evaluated on video transcription and mixed voice search and dictation tasks. However, once this lattice optimization procedure is applied, the phone pair approach has the lowest oracle WER for a given lattice density by a significant margin. We further show that the pruned determinization presented here is efficient to use during decoding unlike classical weighted determinization from which it is derived. Finally, we consider on-the-fly lattice rescoring in which the lattice generation and combination with the secondary LM are done in one step. We compare the phone pair and N-best histories approaches for this scenario and find the former superior in our experiments.
Temperature dependence of nonlinearity in high-speed, high-power photodetectors

We present an experimental study of the nonlinearity of modified uni-traveling carrier (MUTC) photodiodes at cryogenic temperatures. At 120 K, the amplitude-to-phase (AM-to-PM) conversion nonlinearity is reduced by up to 10 dB, resulting in nearly 40 dB AM-to-PM rejection over a broad photocurrent range.
Sustainable Value Recovery of NdFeB Magnets: A Multi-Objective Network Design and Genetic Algorithm

Neodymium–iron–boron (NdFeB) magnets are widely used in clean energy applications such as wind turbines and electric vehicles whose demand is escalating. However, rare earth elements (REEs) for manufacturing NdFeB magnets are subject to significant supply uncertainty due to Chinese near-monopolistic supply. To mitigate the risk, companies are actively pursuing value recovery from end-of-life magnets. However, the questions of how to collect used magnets and smoothly transfer them through the reverse supply chain require further investigation. To address this challenge, this paper designs an efficient NdFeB magnet recovery infrastructure by identifying the optimal processing facility locations and defining the capacities and transportation flows that maximize the economic and environmental benefits and social support for the new business. Mathematical model and a multi-objective network design genetic algorithm (MONDGA) were designed to calculate solutions. When compared with the exact solutions implemente...
Enhanced laser conditioning using temporally shaped pulses

Laser conditioning was investigated as a function of the temporal shape and duration of 351 nm nanosecond pulses for fused-silica substrates polished via magnetorheological finishing. The aim is to advance our understanding of the dynamics involved to enable improved control of the interaction of laser light with the material to optimize laser conditioning. Gaussian pulses that are temporally truncated at the intensity peak are observed to enhance laser conditioning, in comparison to a Gaussian pulse shape.
Krüppel-Like Factors in Vascular Inflammation: Mechanistic Insights and Therapeutic Potential.

The role of inflammation in vascular disease is well recognized, involving dysregulation of both circulating immune cells as well as the cells of the vessel wall itself. Unrestrained vascular inflammation leads to pathological remodeling that eventually contributes to atherothrombotic disease and its associated sequelae (e.g., myocardial/cerebral infarction, embolism, and critical limb ischemia). Signaling events during vascular inflammation orchestrate widespread transcriptional programs that affect the functions of vascular and circulating inflammatory cells. The Kruppel-like factors (KLFs) are a family of transcription factors central in regulating vascular biology in states of homeostasis and disease. Given their abundance and diversity of function in cells associated with vascular inflammation, understanding the transcriptional networks regulated by KLFs will further our understanding of the pathogenesis underlying several pervasive health concerns (e.g., atherosclerosis, stroke, etc.) and consequently inform the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Within this review, we will discuss the role of KLFs in coordinating protective and deleterious responses during vascular inflammation, while addressing the potential targeting of these critical transcription factors in future therapies.
Wind Performance Enhancement Strategies for Residential Wood-Frame Buildings

AbstractExtreme winds such as tornadoes and hurricanes are relatively common natural hazards in the United States and can result in fatalities as well as damaging physical and socioeconomic infrast...
Novel Detection Scheme for X-Ray Small-Angle Scattering

X-ray imaging techniques, including X-ray radiography and computed tomography, have been in use for decades and proven effective and indispensable in diagnosis and therapy due to their fine resolution and fast acquisition speed. However, the innate disadvantage of X-ray is the poor soft tissue contrast. Small-angle scattering signals were shown to provide unique information about the abnormality of soft tissues that is complementary to the traditional attenuation image. Currently, there is no effective small-angle scattering detection system. In this paper, we propose a new “collimation” design dedicated to capture a small-angle scattering radiographic image directly, which carries critical pathological information for differentiation between normal and abnormal tissues. Our design consists of two interlaced gratings so that both primary flux and Compton scattering photons are effectively blocked to leave the apertures mainly open to small-angle scattering photons. Theoretical analysis and Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that small-angle scattering radiography is feasible with our proposed technology.
Understanding Why Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Join Diabetes Online Communities: Semantic Network Analyses

Background: As individuals age, chronic health difficulties may disrupt physical and social well-being. Individuals can turn to online communities to interact with similar peers, which may help buffer negative effects resulting from health difficulties. Objective: This study investigated the reasons that older adults join a diabetes online community to better understand the specific resources that are being sought. Methods: We used semantic network analyses to categorize the reasons participants provided for joining a community during the sign-up process. Results: The most frequent reasons for joining were to seek information about their health condition, to help with self-management of health difficulties, for feelings of informational and social support, and for having a community with whom to share. Women were more likely to go online for sharing and companionship as well as for information and social support reasons, whereas men were more likely to go online for general information and self-management reasons. Conclusions: This study shows the reasons older adults seek to join a diabetes online community: for increased information and support regarding chronic health difficulties. Practitioners may want to consider ways to promote access to online communities among their older patients as a source of health information and a resource to provide a sense of community.
Langevin-Type Models I: Diffusions with Given Stationary Distributions and their Discretizations*

We describe algorithms for estimating a given measure π known up to a constant of proportionality, based on a large class of diffusions (extending the Langevin model) for which π is invariant. We show that under weak conditions one can choose from this class in such a way that the diffusions converge at exponential rate to π, and one can even ensure that convergence is independent of the starting point of the algorithm. When convergence is less than exponential we show that it is often polynomial at verifiable rates. We then consider methods of discretizing the diffusion in time, and find methods which inherit the convergence rates of the continuous time process. These contrast with the behavior of the naive or Euler discretization, which can behave badly even in simple cases. Our results are described in detail in one dimension only, although extensions to higher dimensions are also briefly described.
Effects of Conformational Changes in Peptide–CRM197 Conjugate Vaccines

Conjugate vaccines prepared with the cross-reactive material 197 (CRM197) carrier protein have been successful in the clinic and are of great interest in the field of immunotherapy. One route to preparing peptide–CRM197 conjugate vaccines involves an activation–conjugation strategy, effectively coupling lysine residues on the protein to cysteine thiolate groups on the peptide of interest using a heterobifunctional linker as an activation agent. This method has been found to result in two distinct populations of conjugates, believed to be the result of a conformational change of CRM197 during preparation. This report explores the factors that lead to this conformational change, pointing to a model in which the unintentional alkylation of histidine-21 by the activating agent promotes the “opening” of the monomeric protein. This exposes a new set of lysine residues that are modified by additional activation agents. Subsequent peptide ligation to these sites results in the two conformers. This is the first ti...
Building a Global Culture of Science—The Vietnam Experience

We detail the lessons learned, challenges, achievements, and outlook in building a chemistry research center in Vietnam. Through the principles of "global science", we provide specific insight into the process behind establishing an internationally-competitive research program-a model that is scalable and adaptable to countries beyond Vietnam. Furthermore, we highlight the prospects for success in advancing global science education, research capacity building, and mentorship.
The Effect of Crystallinity and Crystal Structure on the Immersion Freezing of Alumina

Determining the factors that constitute an efficient ice nucleus is an ongoing area of research in the atmospheric community. In particular, surface characteristics such as functional groups and surface defects impact the ice nucleation efficiency. Crystal structure has been proposed to be a possible factor that can dictate ice nucleation activity through the templating of water molecules on the surface of the aerosol particle. If the crystal structure of the surface matches that of the crystal structure of ice, it has been shown to increase ice nucleation activity. In this study, alumina was chosen as a model system because crystal structure and crystallinity can be tuned, and the effect on immersion freezing was explored. The nine alumina samples include polymorphs of AlOOH, Al(OH)3, and Al2O3, which have a range of crystal structures and crystallinities. The samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. From the immersion freezing experiments, corundum [α-Al2O3] was shown to have the highest ice nucleation activity likely because of its high lattice match and high degree of crystallinity. Crystal structure alone did not show a strong correlation with ice nucleation activity, but a combination of a hexagonal crystal structure and a highly crystalline surface was seen to nucleate ice at warmer temperatures than the other alumina samples. This study provides experimental results in the study of ice nucleation of a range of alumina samples, which have possible implications for alumina-based mineral dust particles. Our findings suggest that crystallinity and crystal structure are important to consider when evaluating the ice nucleation efficiency of aerosol particles in laboratory and modeling studies.
Lifestyles are risky, too: the social construction of risk and empowerment in prescription drug direct-to-consumer advertisements

In this article, we examine the portrayal of non-drug related health risks and patient empowerment messages in prescription drug advertising. Little is known about the social construction of non-dr...
Nature Behind Barbed Wire: An Environmental History of the Japanese American Incarceration

Nature Behind Barbed Wire: An Environmental History of the Japanese American Incarceration is the first book-length scholarly work to examine Japanese American wartime confinement during World War ...
Using SRSD to Improve the Fraction Computations of Students with and At-Risk for EBD.

This article provides results from a study examining the impact of a self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) intervention on the fraction calculations of three Grade 5 male students with or at-r...
Implementation of Symptom Care Clinic (SCC) for acute symptoms management at outpatient oncology ambulatory centers.

2030Background: With improved overall cancer survival, increasing number of cancer patients are undergoing active treatment. This, in return, add burden in acute symptom management related to disea...
Charged polaritons in organic semiconductors

Polariton modes in organic semiconductor microcavities traditionally derive from singlet exciton states that possess no net charge or spin. This talk will explore the properties and prospects of charged polariton states that originate from cationic excitations in a heavily doped organic semiconductor. In addition to new electric and magnetic properties associated with their net charge and spin, charged polaritons are shown to be a useful platform for exploring cavity-modified photoinduced electron transfer and the mechanisms that underlie it.
Affine-transformation invariant clustering models

We develop a cluster process which is invariant with respect to unknown affine transformations of the feature space without knowing the number of clusters in advance. Specifically, our proposed method can identify clusters invariant under (I) orthogonal transformations, (II) scaling-coordinate orthogonal transformations, and (III) arbitrary nonsingular linear transformations corresponding to models I, II, and III, respectively and represent clusters with the proposed heatmap of the similarity matrix. The proposed Metropolis-Hasting algorithm leads to an irreducible and aperiodic Markov chain, which is also efficient at identifying clusters reasonably well for various applications. Both the synthetic and real data examples show that the proposed method could be widely applied in many fields, especially for finding the number of clusters and identifying clusters of samples of interest in aerial photography and genomic data.
Latina contraceptive decision-making and use: The importance of provider communication and shared decision-making for patient-centered care

Abstract Background Poor patient-provider communication, among other reasons, is a notable barrier to contraceptive decision-making among Latinas. Patient-centered approaches to contraceptive counseling that optimize communication align with shared decision-making (SDM) –which is associated with satisfaction and continued contraceptive use among various populations. Objective To examine associations of patient-provider communication and importance of SDM tenets with consistent contraceptive use among a population of Latinas. Patient involvement Formative work for this study included prior qualitative and quantitative research with Latinas who expressed the importance of patient-provider communication during contraceptive counseling and therefore were instrumental in problem definition. Methods Cross-sectional surveys were administered to Latinas ages 15–29 years. Patient-provider communication, patient-reported importance of specific SDM tenets, and consistent contraception use were measured and analyzed for associations. Results 103 Latinas (mean age = 21.4) participated. 33% of participants Discussion Patient-provider communication was especially important for Latinas ≥ 21 while using an SDM approach during counseling was highly valued by those Practical value Results from this research demonstrate that patient-centered communication is highly valued by Latina study participants and is an important consideration in their contraceptive counseling. Clinicians should consider employing techniques such as SDM as they seek to provide patient-centered care during contraceptive counseling for this patient population.
Emotion Naming Impedes Both Cognitive Reappraisal and Mindful Acceptance Strategies of Emotion Regulation

Friends and therapists often encourage people in distress to say how they feel (i.e., name their emotions) with the hope that identifying their emotions will help them cope. Although lay and some psychological theories posit that emotion naming should facilitate subsequent emotion regulation, there is little research directly testing this question. Here, we report on two experimental studies that test how naming the emotions evoked by aversive images impacts subsequent regulation of those emotions. In study 1 (N = 80), participants were randomly assigned into one of four between-subjects conditions in which they either (i) passively observed aversive images, (ii) named the emotions that these images made them feel, (iii) regulated their emotions by reappraising the meaning of images, or (iv) both named and regulated their emotions. Analyses of self-reported negative affect revealed that emotion naming impeded emotion regulation via reappraisal. Participants who named their emotions before reappraising reported feeling worse than those who regulated without naming. Study 2 (N = 60) replicated these findings in a within-participants design, demonstrated that emotion naming also impeded regulation via mindful acceptance, and showed that observed effects were unrelated to a measure of social desirability, thereby mitigating the concern of experimenter demand. Together, these studies show that the impact of emotion naming on emotion regulation opposes common intuitions: instead of facilitating emotion regulation via reappraisal or acceptance, constructing an instance of a specific emotion category by giving it a name may “crystalize” one’s affective experience and make it more resistant to modification.
Performance Evaluation and Improvement of Real-Time Computer Vision Applications for Edge Computing Devices

Advances in deep neural networks have provided a significant improvement in accuracy and speed across a large range of Computer Vision (CV) applications. However, our ability to perform real-time CV on edge devices is severely restricted by their limited computing capabilities. In this paper we employ Vega, a parallel graph-based framework, to study the performance limitations of four heterogeneous edge-computing platforms, while running 12 popular deep learning CV applications. We expand the framework's capabilities, introducing two new performance enhancements: 1) an adaptive stage instance controller (ASI-C) that can improve performance by dynamically selecting the number of instances for a given stage of the pipeline; and 2) an adaptive input resolution controller (AIR-C) to improve responsiveness and enable real-time performance. These two solutions are integrated together to provide a robust real-time solution. Our experimental results show that ASI-C improves run-time performance by 1.4x on average across all heterogeneous platforms, achieving a maximum speedup of 4.3x while running face detection executed on a high-end edge device. We demonstrate that our integrated optimization framework improves performance of applications and is robust to changing execution patterns.
Mens Daemonica: Guilt, Justice, and the Occult in South Africa

In winter 2014, the town of Thohoyandou, South Africa was gripped with panic after a series of rapes and murders. In this area, notorious for its occult specialists and witchcraft, stories began to circulate attributing the violence to demonic forces. These stories were given credence by the young man who was charged with these crimes. In his testimony, he confirmed that he was possessed by evil forces. Taking this story as a point of departure, this article provides an empirical account of the ambivalent ways state sites of criminal justice grapple with the occult in South Africa. Drawing on twenty-two months of ethnographic fieldwork, I describe how spirit possession is not easily reconciled with legal methods of parsing criminal liability in courtrooms. And yet, when imprisoned people are paroled, the state entertains the possibility of bewitchment in public ceremonies of reconciliation. Abstracting from local stories about the occult, this article proposes mens daemonica (“demonic mind”) to describe this state of hijacked selfhood and as an alternative to the mens rea (“criminal mind”) observed in criminal law. While the latter seeks the cause of wrongdoing in the authentic will of the autonomous, self-governing subject, mens daemonica describes a putatively extra-legal idea of captured volition that implicates a vast and ultimately unknowable range of others and objects in what only appears to be a singular act of wrongdoing. This way of reckoning culpability has the potential to inspire new approaches to justice.
Gender and Sustainability in Ecological Intentional Communities

Some environmentalists connect their activism to feminism, arguing that mitigating climate change will require transforming gender hierarchies. In this study, I consider two ecological intentional ...
A Cyst-ematic Analysis of the Adrenal Gland.

OBJECTIVES Although primary adrenal lesions and metastases are most commonly encountered, de novo cysts of the adrenal gland can occasionally occur. METHODS We analyzed the pathology archives at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for diagnoses of cystic lesions of the adrenal gland between 1998 and 2020. Patient demographics and clinical information were extracted, and pathology slides and stains, as appropriate, were analyzed. The literature between 1998 and 2020 was also searched for large case series involving cystic adrenal lesions. RESULTS We found 18 cystic lesions of the adrenal gland in our archives, categorized as pseudocysts (7), endothelial cysts (5), mesothelial cysts (2), mature teratoma (1), cystic adrenal cortical adenoma (1), cystic pheochromocytoma (1), and cystic metastasis (1). The mean age at time of diagnosis was 52.3 years, and the mean size of the cysts was 6.0 cm. There was a slight female predilection, and cysts were more likely to be found on the left side. All lesions were incidental findings. The cystic metastasis was clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Our findings were also compared with those found in the literature published within the same timeframe. CONCLUSIONS Adrenal cysts are rare entities. Our findings are concordant with other large studies and provide additional cases to the existing literature. In addition, our literature search expands the possible differential diagnoses for cystic lesions arising in the adrenal gland.
Counterintuitive Pseudoscience Propagates by Exploiting the Mind's Communication Evaluation Mechanisms.

Epidemiological models of culture posit that the prevalence of a belief depends in part on the fit between that belief and intuitions generated by the mind’s reliably developing architecture. Application of such models to pseudoscience suggests that one route via which these beliefs gain widespread appeal stems from their compatibility with these intuitions. For example, anti-vaccination beliefs are readily adopted because they cohere with intuitions about the threat of contagion. However, other varieties of popular pseudoscience such as astrology and parapsychology contain content that violates intuitions held about objects and people. Here, we propose a pathway by which ‘counterintuitive pseudoscience’ may spread and receive endorsement. Drawing on recent empirical evidence, we suggest that counterintuitive pseudoscience triggers the mind’s communication evaluation mechanisms. These mechanisms are hypothesized to quarantine epistemically-suspect information including counterintuitive pseudoscientific concepts. As a consequence, these beliefs may not immediately update conflicting intuitions and may be largely restricted from influencing behavior. Nonetheless, counterintuitive pseudoscientific concepts, when in combination with intuitively-appealing content, may differentially draw attention and memory. People may also be motivated to seek further information about these concepts, including by asking others, in an attempt to reconcile them with prior beliefs. This in turn promotes the re-transmission of these ideas. We discuss how, during this information-search, support for counterintuitive pseudoscience may come from deference to apparently authoritative sources, reasoned arguments, and the functional outcomes of these beliefs. Ultimately, these factors promote the cultural success of counterintuitive pseudoscience but explicit endorsement of these concepts may not entail tacit commitment.
Digital Engineering Design: A Modern Approach

Background fundamentals of digital design function representation and reduction combinational logic design snychronous sequential machines asynchronous sequential machines.
Some Transitional Gliomas

The histologic identification of glial tumors often offers a difficult problem, not only for the reason that the range of differentiation of the cellular elements is wide, but also because each territorial division of the brain may serve as a site favorable to the growth of one or another type. Thus, in their classification, advantage must be taken of every available bit of information regarding their probable origin as determined by the nature and lineage of the constituent cells and by the sites of predilection. Moreover, in the process of tumor formation, the transition from the normal cell to the blastomatous may embrace any or all of the glial elements and, not infrequently, the neural elements as well. In assaying a given tumor, it is the practice to classify and name it according to the dominant cell-form in the material examined. Insufficient emphasis, however, has been placed on the observations made by Globus on material obtained by consecutive biopsies made at intervals on a group of cases which ultimately came to autopsy. He noted that the character of a given glial tumor changes and that the change is in the nature of an increasing malignancy, i.e. , of a diminishing cellular differentiation. It has been suggested that the explanation for this occurrence lies in provocation to unrestricted proliferation of germinal centers or foci of undifferentiated cells by some unknown influence. Such aggregations of cells are presumed to exist in all glial tumors, irrespective of age, but now and then a more or less overwhelming shift in the cellular ratios of the tumor takes place, resulting in a change affecting both its histologic appearance and clinical expression. The validity of this explanation is supported by the frequent finding, in the same tumor, of widely separated areas presenting widely differing histologic pictures. Thus it becomes apparent that the cellular formula of a glial tumor varies in some accord with its age, and that a diagnosis made by histologic analysis of material obtained at any specific time is but a static record of the particular phase in which the tumor chanced to be halted.
Obesity induced a leptin-Notch signaling axis in breast cancer

To investigate whether obesity induces a leptin-Notch signaling axis in breast cancer (BC), leptin-induced Notch was determined in human MCF-7 and MDA-MB231 and mouse E0771 cells and in E0771-BC hosted by syngeneic lean and diet-induced obesity (DIO) C57BL/6J female mice. Lean and DIO mice were treated for 3 weeks with leptin inhibitor (PEG-LPrA2) 1 week after the inoculation of E0771 cells. Leptin induced Notch1, 3 and 4 in BC cells, but Notch2 expression showed opposite pattern in MCF-7 compared to MDA-MB231 cells. Notch loss-of-function (DAPT and dominant negative [R218H] RBP-Jk [CSL/CBF1]) showed that a functional leptin-Notch signaling axis was involved in the proliferation and migration of E0771 cells. E0771-BC onset was affected by obesity (lean mice7/10 [70%] vs. DIO mice: 11/12 [92%]; Pearson χ(2) : p = 0.06]). PEG-LPrA2 significantly reduced BC growth (untreated: 19/42; [45%] vs. treated: 8/42 [19%]; Pearson χ(2) : p = 0.008). PEG-LPrA2 did not influence the caloric intake of mice but increased carcass and/or body weights of lean and DIO mice inoculated with E0771 cells, which could be related to the improvement of health conditions (less aggressive disease). Importantly, BC from obese mice had higher levels of Notch3, JAG1 and survivin than lean mice. Inhibition of leptin signaling reduced protein levels of Notch (NICD1, NICD4, Notch3, JAG1 and survivin) and significantly decreased mRNA expression of Notch receptors, ligands and targets. PEG-LPrA's effects were more prominent in DIO mice. Present data suggest that leptin induces Notch, which could be involved in the reported higher incidence and aggressiveness and, poor prognosis of BC in obese patients.
Another World Food Scare

Food9s Frontier The Next Green Revolution. Richard Manning. North Point (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), New York, 2000. 233 pp. $24, C$38.95. ISBN 0-86547-593-8. Manning argues that we have reached the limits of what the Green Revolution of the 1960s can do to supply food to a still growing world population. He discusses nine ongoing projects that are experimenting with potential means of further increases in food production, including indigenous knowledge, native crops, and biotechnology.
A Logic of Interrogation Should Be Internalized in a Modal Logic for Knowledge

We propose a new, modal interpretation of questions. The idea of interpreting questions via modal logic goes back to Hintikka (1976) and Aqvist (1965), who interpret a question as a request for knowledge: “bring it about that I know whether . . . ”. Such a request is composed of an imperative part and an epistemic part. Focusing on the latter, we interpret a question as the knowledge condition required in order to answer it completely. We will reduce the epistemic part of the meaning of both yes-no questions and wh-questions to statements of the form “it is known whether” or “it is in the common ground that . . . ”. For instance, for a yes-no question such as Is Alice quitting?, the meaning is “it is known that Alice is quitting or it is known that Alice is not quitting”. Several different approaches have been suggested in linguistic semantics for modeling questions.
Controlled activity polymers. VI: Acrylamide copolymers with structopendent naphthylacetic acid and indoleacetic acid esters: Synthesis and characterization

Abstract Auxin-containing monomers, 2-(1-naphthylacetyl) ethyl acrylate (NAEA), 2-(1-naphthylacetyl) butyl acrylate (NABA), 2-(1-naphthylacetyl) ethyl methacrylate (NAEMA), and 2-(indole-3-acetyl) ethyl acrylate (IAEA) were prepared utilizing a 4-pyrrolidinopyridine catalyst and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. Copolymers of auxin-containing monomers with acrylamide (AM) were obtained by solution polymerization. Intrinsic viscosities, number-average molecular weights, and residual monomer contents were measured; molecular weights were found to be in the range 5.5–18.0 × 10 4 . Copolymer compositional data were used to calculate reactivity ratios; the values obtained indicated random copolymerization behavior. The copolymer microstructures were predicted utilizing statistical methods. These model structures are utilized for the assessment of structure/hydrolysis relationships in a subsequent paper.