cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental dead zones: two designs for creating oxygen gradients in aquatic ecological studies

Hypoxia is commonly defined as dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations below 2 mg L−1. The occurrence of hypoxia within freshwater and marine ecosystems is stressful for respiring organisms across all trophic levels, leading to changes in community diversity, altered trophic interactions, and decreased physiological fitness of organisms. Whereas many field studies have identified changes in animal diets and species distribution due to hypoxia, the behavioral changes that drive these patterns are poorly understood. Additionally, many laboratory studies that subject organisms to a fixed DO concentration may not be entirely applicable to natural environments because many organisms are capable of sensing and avoiding hypoxic areas. Herein we describe two experimental tank systems developed to study the effects of oxygen gradients on fish behavior. These systems are novel in that 1) fish and potentially other aquatic organisms can freely move between hypoxic and well oxygenated areas, 2) the thermocline or oxycline is easily adjusted for multiple treatment levels, 3) they are large enough to study fish behavior on an ecological scale, and 4) are constructed with affordable, readily available materials and are easily maintained. In both systems, we were able to conduct fish behavior studies under stable thermal and oxic stratification comparable to conditions found in temperate freshwater lakes.
The Sensing Mechanism and the Response Simulation of the MIS Hydrogen Sensor

The pure Pd and Pd alloy gated metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) hydrogen sensors have been studied. The chemical state of palladium in Pd and Pd alloy gated devices is similar and Pd alloy devices show a wide dynamic range. According to the hydrogen induced capacitance-voltage ( CV) shift and the response from a refreshed sensor, a new sensing mechanism is proposed that the hydrogen response is due to the protons on the metal/insulator interface and some of the protons take a long time to be desorbed from the interface. Based on this mechanism, a one-dimensional model is constructed with the consideration of the series resistance and fixed positive charges to simulate the CV/GV curves and hydrogen response from the Pd-Cr gated device.
A hierarchical anticipatory neural controller with fuzzy spectral filter diagnostics

A full state feedback recurrent (FSFER) neural network architecture is developed as a best representation in both the time and frequency domains for engine and chassis dynamometer modelling and control. In order to reduce the lag experienced by current robotic driver controllers, a fuzzy spectral filter is combined with radial basis function neural networks to suggest a best time to apply a throttle or brake input before velocity error feedback is available.
Engineered Truncations in the Drosophila Mastermind Protein Disrupt Notch Pathway Function

Abstract The phenotypes and genetic interactions associated with mutations in the Drosophila mastermind (mam) gene have implicated it as a component of the Notch signaling pathway. However, its function and site of action within many tissues requiring Notch signaling have not been thoroughly investigated. To address these questions, we have constructed truncated versions of the Mam protein that elicit dominant phenotypes when expressed in imaginal tissues under GAL4-UAS regulation. By several criteria, these effects appear to phenocopy loss of function for the Notch pathway. When expressed in the notum, truncated Mam results in failure of lateral inhibition within proneural clusters and perturbations in cell fate specification within the sensory organ precursor cell lineage. Expression in the wing is associated with vein thickening and margin defects, including nicking and bristle loss. The truncation-associated wing margin phenotypes are modified by mutations in Notch and Wg pathway genes and are correlated with depressed expression of wg, cut, and vg. These data support the idea that Mam truncations have lost key effector domains and therefore behave as dominant-negative proteins. Coexpression of Delta or an activated form of Notch suppresses the effects of the Mam truncation, suggesting that Mam can function upstream of ligand–receptor interaction in the Notch pathway. This system should prove useful for the investigation of the role of Mam within the Notch pathway.
Type 1 diabetes: primary antigen/peptide/register/trimolecular complex

Type 1A diabetes (autoimmune) is now immunologically predictable in man, but preventable only in animal models. What triggers the development of autoimmunity in genetically susceptible individuals remains unknown. Studies of non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice reveal that interactions between T-cell receptors of diabetogenic T cell and an MHC class II loaded with an autoantigen are key determinates of the disease. With insulin as the primary target in the NOD mouse, likely man, and possibly the RT1-U rat models, therapeutic targeting of the components of these anti-insulin trimolecular complexes we believe provide a fulcrum for development of preventive therapy. In particular for the NOD mouse model, there is extensive evidence that the dominant insulin peptide driving disease initiation is insulin B chain amino acids 9-23 (SHLVEALYLVCGERG) recognized predominantly by germ-line sequences of a specific T-cell receptor Valpha (TRAV5D-4), and small molecules or monoclonal antibodies directed at this recognition complex can prevent diabetes.
Organic and psychological sequelae of traumatic brain injury: the postconcussional syndrome in clinical practice.

Symptoms of neurological and psychological origin frequently coexist in survivors of closed head injuries, making it vital for the clinician to address both biological and psychosocial issues in their treatment.
Magnetic particle imaging: advancements and perspectives for real-time in vivo monitoring and image-guided therapy

Magnetic particle imaging (MPI) is an emerging biomedical imaging technology that allows the direct quantitative mapping of the spatial distribution of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles. MPI's increased sensitivity and short image acquisition times foster the creation of tomographic images with high temporal and spatial resolution. The contrast and sensitivity of MPI is envisioned to transcend those of other medical imaging modalities presently used, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray scans, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In this review, we present an overview of the recent advances in the rapidly developing field of MPI. We begin with a basic introduction of the fundamentals of MPI, followed by some highlights over the past decade of the evolution of strategies and approaches used to improve this new imaging technique. We also examine the optimization of iron oxide nanoparticle tracers used for imaging, underscoring the importance of size homogeneity and surface engineering. Finally, we present some future research directions for MPI, emphasizing the novel and exciting opportunities that it offers as an important tool for real-time in vivo monitoring. All these opportunities and capabilities that MPI presents are now seen as potential breakthrough innovations in timely disease diagnosis, implant monitoring, and image-guided therapeutics.
Robust block-matching motion-estimation technique for noisy sources

Video coding standards use the block-matching algorithm (BMA) and motion-compensated prediction to reduce temporal redundancies present in image sequences. Block matching is used since it is computationally efficient and produces a minimal representation of the motion field that is transmitted as side information. In order to build a robust coder the motion-estimation technique must be able to track motion in a noisy source. The approach presented in this paper uses spatio-temporal motion prediction, providing an accurate motion estimate even in the presence of noise. With this approach, noisy sources can be compressed efficiently and robustly in standard video coders (e.g., MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.261, and H.263) with little increase in complexity.
Infantile Myofibromatosis with Hemangiopericytoma-Like Features of the Tongue: A Case Study Including Ultrastructure

We report a case of an infantile myofibromatosis with hemangiopericytoma-like features arising in the tongue of a 5-month-old female infant. Many authors now classify neoplasms as infantile myofibromatosis that were previously called infantile hemangiopericytoma. The ultrastructural features of our tumor illustrate its biphasic nature and provide a possible explanation for its histogenesis. Infantile myofibromatosis, including those diagnosed as infantile hemangiopericytomas, rarely arise in any intraoral location. Despite the generally good prognosis associated with these neoplasms, complete surgical excision is recommended to avoid recurrences.
Extracellular microRNA: A new source of biomarkers

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a recently discovered class of small, non-coding RNAs that regulate protein levels post-transcriptionally. miRNAs play important regulatory roles in many cellular processes, including differentiation, neoplastic transformation, and cell replication and regeneration. Because of these regulatory roles, it is not surprising that aberrant miRNA expression has been implicated in several diseases. Recent studies have reported significant levels of miRNAs in serum and other body fluids, raising the possibility that circulating miRNAs could serve as useful clinical biomarkers. Here, we provide a brief overview of miRNA biogenesis and function, the identification and potential roles of circulating extracellular miRNAs, and the prospective uses of miRNAs as clinical biomarkers. Finally, we address several issues associated with the accurate measurement of miRNAs from biological samples.
Performance Characterization of Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Network by Simulation

As future space exploration missions will involve larger number of spacecraft and more complex systems, theoretical analysis alone may have limitations on characterizing system performance and interactions among the systems. Simulation tools can be useful for system performance characterization through detailed modeling and simulation of the systems and its environment. To simulate space-based networks, we have developed the multi-mission advanced communications hybrid environment for test and evaluation (MACHETE) tool which captures the unique characteristics of space networking for performance assessment and end-to-end test evaluation. This tool contains orbital and planetary motion kinematics models, link engineering models, traffic load generation models and communication protocol models. This paper reports the simulation of the Orion (crew exploration vehicle) to the International Space Station (ISS) mission where Orion is launched by Ares into orbit on a 14-day mission to rendezvous with the ISS. Communications services for the mission are provided by the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) network infrastructure which includes the NASA Space Network (SN), Ground Network (GN) and NASA Integrated Services Network (NISN). The objectives of the simulation are to determine whether SCaN can meet the communications needs of the mission, to demonstrate the benefit of using QoS prioritization, and to evaluate network key parameters of interest such as delay and throughput.
Interface failure in lead free solder joints

The phenomenon of interface failure in lead free solder joints was explored using solder joint array tensile testing. The effects of pad metallization, solder alloy, reflow conditions, and post reflow thermal aging were quantified. The joint strength ranged from 5 to 115MPa. The joint ductility dropped to zero in some cases. The interface microstructure and failure mode were characterized for each combination of factors. Most of the trends were linked to microstructural features of the interface. A ductile-to-brittle transition strain rate (DTBTSR) was defined as a metric to quantify the performance of a specific joint relative to interface failure. The DTBTSR ranged from 10/sup -3/ /sec to 10/sec for the conditions studied.
Risking Health: Failing to Balance Access to Essential Medicines and the Protection of Intellectual Property in Developing Countries Facing a Continuing HIV/AIDS Disaster

This article questions many of the existing responses to the problem of providing access to essential medicines in developing countries, especially in the context of the continuing global HIV/AIDS pandemic. Arguing that the dominant understanding of the existing legal framework disproportionately shifts the risk of diseases and the HIV/AIDS pandemic in particular, onto those who are most vulnerable and concludes that at a minimum a reversion to a more limited intellectual property regime in the context of public health might achieve a better balance between the various national and private interests that have been the focus of the global intellectual property regime. I suggest that an alternative understanding might support the demands of a more human solidarity, that might bring hope to millions of people whose lives are indelibly marked by the burden of diseases, and who in other circumstances might be able to manage their health conditions so that they can remain valued members of their communities and productive citizens of their countries.
Context-Aware Communication to Stabilize Bandwidth-Limited Nonlinear Networked Control Systems

In this paper, context-aware communication that stabilizes a class of nonlinear networked control systems (NCS) operating over a bandwidth-limited shared-channel is proposed to reduce network traffic. The NCS under consideration includes feedback and feed forward communication channels, and is assumed to be perturbed by an unmodeled, nonlinear disturbance. Informational value of the output states can be analyzed in the context of system stability using model-based approaches. When fused with event-based triggering, these context-aware communication policies result in a periodic feedback and feed forward signals that guarantee uniformly ultimately bounded tracking of output states of an uncertain perturbed system along the desired time-varying trajectory. The proposed NCS is validated using extensive simulation results for nonlinear coupled MIMO systems.
Oral Glutamine in Preventing Treatment-Related Mucositis in Adult Patients With Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Background: Breakdown of the mucosal barrier resulting in mucositis is a common adverse event in patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy and radiation. Many studies have evaluated the use of oral glutamine to prevent mucositis in these settings, but current guidelines make no recommendations with regard to its use. Our objective was to systematically review the evidence for the use of oral glutamine in preventing mucositis in adult patients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation. Materials and Methods: A systematic search of English-language literature was done via MEDLINE using the search terms glutamine, cancer, and mucositis or esophagitis or stomatitis. Fifteen studies conducted in adult patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy and/or radiation comparing single-agent oral glutamine with control were identified. Results: Oral glutamine was shown to be effective in 11 of the 15 studies included in the systematic review. It significantly reduced the incidence of grade 2, 3, or 4 muco...
A comparison of the seismicity of three regions of the Eastern U.S.

Frequency-intensity data from the Southeastern U.S., Central Mississippi Valley, and Southern New England are compared. They are all quite parallel to one another and consistent with a slope of about 0.57. There is no evidence for the existence of upper bounds to maximum epicentral intensity in these data sets. Linear extrapolation of the frequency-intensity data to intensities of X leads to expected probabilities for the occurrence of large earthquakes. The largest events which have occurred in these three regions are consistent with these probabilities.
Contradictory Demands on the First Amendment Religion Clauses: Having it Both Ways

During the decade of the sixties, mainline religion was on the defensive on numerous fronts, among them constitutional interpretation. Typical of this era were assaults on traditional church state associations, such as the successful attacks on prayers and Bible readings in public schools as violations of the Establishment Clause.1 Similarly, the Free Exercise Clause was expanded to be more solicitous of the interests of religious minorities; for example, U.S. Selective Service statutes were interpreted to accord conscientious objector status to persons holding nontheistic religious or philosophical beliefs.2 By the mid-1970s, except for the perpetually thorny and doctrinally uninspiring area of aid to parochial schools,3 it seemed that nothing much more remained to be said about the separation of church and state. The 1980s have reversed that trend. Increasingly, traditional religion has been on the offensive, challenging the secularization which emerged in the previous decade, and demanding new kinds of accommodations for expanded religious activities. In general, the new demands are for a broader understanding of the Free Exercise Clause in order to free religious institutions and religiously motivated activities from burdensome government regulation, and for a more constricted interpretation of the Establishment Clause in order to permit increased
Letter to the editor: Measurement of autophagy-related proteins by immunohistochemistry/tissue microarray to characterize autophagy: problems and considerations.

to the editor: In a recent issue of Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol , Roesly et al. ([10][1]) examined samples of human and murine models of Barrett's esophagus (BE) and esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) to characterize the expression of Beclin 1. Specifically, Roesly et al. found that the
New Synthetic Test Equipment for the Operational Test of SVC and HVDC Valves

For the convenience of operational tests about the high power thyristor valves, a new synthetic test equipment (STE) is presented based on the analysis of the current test technology for high power thyristor valves and the requirements of the IEC Standards for the STE, as well as the topology and operation theory of the STE. The new STE can provide many flexible test modes to meet the test requirements of bi-directional SVC valves and one-way HVDC valve modules and has many merits such as high-test ability and wide range of the test object. It provides a good testing platform for the research on the high power thyristor valves.
Monitoring analysis of measles Ig G antibody level among healthy people in Zhenning county of Guizhou Province

Objective To know the level of measles Ig G antibody among healthy people in Zhenning county of Guizhou Province Methods 360 serum samples were randomly collected from eight age groups(including aged 1, 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10-14,15-19, and ≥20 years) of the healthy population in 15 small towns in Zhenning county, and the antibody levels of measles were detected by ELISA. Results The antibody levels of measles were detected in 360 serum samples. The antibody positive rate of measles was 83.89%. There were also significant differences within the age groups in the positive rates(χ2=14.72, P0.05).Conclusion The timely vaccination and disease monitoring are the keys to eliminate measles.
Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid occurring as multiple vascular tumors

A case of advanced papillary carcinoma in a 16-year-old boy is presented. While this case is typical of the indolent and locally invasive character of papillary carcinoma, it is remarkable for the extent of tumor involvement appearing as reactive lymphadenopathy. The pronounced tumor vascularity and the similarity of the needle biopsy specimen to chemodectoma both conflicted with the initial diagnostic impression. The correct diagnosis was confirmed only with definitive surgical therapy.
Equilibrium Configurations of a Kirchhoff Elastic Rod under Quasi-static Manipulation

Consider a thin, flexible wire of fixed length that is held at each end by a robotic gripper. The curve traced by this wire can be described as a local solution to a geometric optimal control problem, with boundary conditions that vary with the position and orientation of each gripper. The set of all local solutions to this problem is the configuration space of the wire under quasi-static manipulation. We will show that this configuration space is a smooth manifold of finite dimension that can be parameterized by a single chart. Working in this chart—rather than in the space of boundary conditions—makes the problem of manipulation planning very easy to solve. Examples in simulation illustrate our approach.
Opportunities for Research, Education, and Training at the National Institutes of Health.

Ask many interventionalists their notion of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and you may encounter perceptions of a hard-core basic science rat-and-test-tube research institute that has little to do with day-to-day interventional radiology (IR) clinical practice, patient-oriented IR clinical research, or education relevant to IR trainees. In fact, there are several opportunities for education, research, and training that are unique to the NIH intramural and extramural programs relevant to both academically oriented and private practice IRs, particularly for those with an interest in device development and clinical trial participation.
Yield Performance of Cowpea Plant Introductions Grown in Calcareous Soils

Cowpea or southernpea (Vigna unguiculata) is an important legume crop used as a feed for livestock, as a green vegetable and for consumption of its dry beans, which provide 22% to 25% protein. The crop is very sensitive to alkaline soil conditions. When grown at a soil pH of 7.5 or higher, cowpea develops severe leaf chlorosis caused by deficiencies of iron, zinc, and manganese resulting in stunted plant growth and yield reduction. We evaluated in replicated field experiments at St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Miami, FL, four PIs and one commercial cultivar, some of which have shown some tolerance to alkaline soils in unreplicated, seed regeneration plots of the U.S. cowpea collection. At both locations, PI 582702 had significantly higher seed protein concentration than the other PIs, averaging 28%. Alkaline soil conditions at St. Croix were severe resulting in average yield of PIs at this location being significantly lower and 69% less than that in Florida. Nevertheless, some PIs performed well at both locations. For example, PI 582605 had significantly higher yield in Florida, whereas in St. Croix, PIs 582605, 582674, and 582702 were the highest yielders. These PIs may serve as an alternative to growers or home gardeners wishing to establish a legume crop in areas where agricultural production is severely restricted by high soil alkalinity.
Sequential formation of two branched intermediates during protein splicing of class three inteins

Inteins are the protein equivalent of introns. They are seamlessly removed during post-translational maturation of their host protein (extein). Inteins from extremophiles played a key role in understanding intein-mediated protein splicing. There are currently three classes of inteins defined by catalytic mechanism and sequence signatures. This study demonstrates splicing of three class 3 mini-inteins: Burkholderia vietnamiensis G4 Bvi IcmO intein, Mycobacterium smegmatis MC2 155 Msm DnaB-1 intein and Mycobacterium leprae strain TN Mle DnaB intein. B. vietnamiensis has a broad ecological range and remediates trichloroethene. M. smegmatis is a biofilm forming soil bacteria. Although other intein classes have only a single branched intermediate at the C-terminal splice junction, the class 3 intein reaction pathway includes two branched intermediates. The class 3 specific branched intermediate is formed by an internal cysteine, while the C-terminal branch intermediate is at a serine or threonine in all class 3 inteins except the Bvi IcmO intein, where it is a cysteine. This latter cysteine was unable to compensate for mutation of the class 3-specific internal catalytic cysteine despite the Bvi IcmO intein having an N-terminal splice junction naturally tuned for a cysteine nucleophile, demonstrating the mandatory order of branch intermediates in class 3 inteins.
Tunneling for Transparency: A Large-Scale Analysis of End-to-End Violations in the Internet

Detecting violations of application-level end-to-end connectivity on the Internet is of significant interest to researchers and end users; recent studies have revealed cases of HTTP ad injection and HTTPS man-in-the-middle attacks. Unfortunately, detecting such end-to-end violations at scale remains difficult, as it generally requires having the cooperation of many nodes spread across the globe. Most successful approaches have relied either on dedicated hardware, user-installed software, or privileged access to a popular web site. In this paper, we present an alternate approach for detecting end-to-end violations based on Luminati, a HTTP/S proxy service that routes traffic through millions of end hosts. We develop measurement techniques that allow Luminati to be used to detect end-to-end violations of DNS, HTTP, and HTTPS, and, in many cases, enable us to identify the culprit. We present results from over 1.2m nodes across 14k ASes in 172 countries, finding that up to 4.8% of nodes are subject to some type of end-to-end connectivity violation. Finally, we are able to use Luminati to identify and measure the incidence of content monitoring, where end-host software or ISP middleboxes record users' HTTP requests and later re-download the content to third-party servers.
Global health policy in Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent global policy goals in contrast to Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), which had developmental focus. This is the global potential of SDGs for global health policy. However, the large number of goals bear the risk of prioritisation between different goals and broad global frameworks and specific targets may not be useful in shaping policy guidance and global approaches in policy areas, where we already have a global institutional and normative presence. In contrast to some other global social policy areas, global health policy has also something to lose. SDGs are thus likely to be better for global health in other policies, than for global health policy priorities, institutions and practice. This is a particular concern for the global health policy role of the World Health Organisation, global health policies seeking normative action as well as for such health policy priorities, which contrast or conflict with other policy areas or strong corporate interests....
Remote Sediment Classification Potential of Reflected Acoustic Signals

It is generally accepted that acoustic echoes received from marine sediments are relatable to a number of sediment geotechnical descriptions. To investigate these relationships, mathematical modeling, preliminary system design concepts, specific instrumentation, and a computer aided analytical approach have been developed. Techniques have been implemented and applied to at-sea data acquisition, employing a towed array, which allow simultaneous remote estimates of compressional wave velocity, attenuation rates, and the reflection coefficient as a function of incident angle. Initial correlations between measured acoustic indices and sediment physical parameters are presented and the potential for remote classification discussed.
Top 10 Reasons Why Children Find Physical Activity to Be Fun

“Fun” is considered, from both research and practical knowledge, to be a critical factor in children's decision to participate (or not) in physical activity (PA). Despite its importance, few studie...
General Principles of Pressure Ulcer Management

Despite considerable research in management of pressure ulcers over the last decades, substantial issues remain unresolved. Pressure reduction is thought to be critical in healing of pressure ulcer. With the possible exception of air-fluidized beds, one type of pressure-reducing device has not been shown to be superior to another. Nutritional support is a cornerstone of clinical care and should be optimized in all persons, including persons with pressure ulcers, consistent with medical goals and patient wishes. Revisions in the staging system for pressure ulcers have resulted in more precision for clinical description and may help guide choice of therapy. However, new categories of staging may be more difficult for non-wound care specialists. Diagnosing clinical infection in pressure ulcers remains problematic and rests on careful clinical observation. The Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing tool adequately assesses pressure ulcer status and has proved sensitive to change over time.
Operative Carpal and Hand Injuries in Children

Most carpal and hand injuries in children are treated nonoperatively. The purpose of this lecture is to identify those clinical situations that require operative intervention. Complications from pediatric hand fractures, dislocations, and soft-tissue injuries are most commonly due to the failure to identify and treat an injury requiring an operation acutely. This lecture will also review surgical techniques for specific injuries of the carpus and hand in children. With regard to the wrist, this discussion will include the indications for open reduction of scaphoid fractures, treatment of scaphoid nonunions, and arthroscopic examination and treatment of chondral and ligamentous injuries. Distal injuries that are treated surgically include Seymour fractures, phalangeal neck injuries, and intra-articular fractures. Look for this and other related articles in Instructional Course Lectures , Volume 57, which will be published by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in March 2008: • “Surgical Management of Forearm and Distal Radius Fractures in Children and Adolescents,” by Charles T. Price, MD A scaphoid fracture is the most common carpal injury in children, and it has become more common during the last decade or two1-3. The increased participation in competitive youth sports may account for the increased incidence of these fractures. As in adults, scaphoid fractures are classified by the location, degree, and direction of fracture displacement. Distal pole, waist, and proximal fractures all occur in children, with waist fractures being the most common4,5. As in adults, displacement beyond 1 to 2 mm is associated with malunion or nonunion in children6. Determining the amount of displacement can be difficult, and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging is an important evaluation for this purpose and can be of help as a guide in the treatment of these fractures7-10. Osteonecrosis …
Semiautomatic Entry of Neuron Trees from the Microscope

Chapter 1 introduced the concept of neuron tracing as a method of transferring a neuron from its original form in the tissue to a different form—either a drawing on a sheet of paper or a physical model. Although these new forms help to overcome some of the viewing constraints of the microscope, they still are not “tractable”; that is, they are still difficult to work with mathematically. If you wish to do a statistical summarization of the neuron, for example to plot its dendritic length versus thickness, you must make tedious measurements of the drawing or model to gather the data for the graph. To alleviate this problem, the neuron should be transferred (Fig. 4-1) to a computer memory. Once stored there, a computer program can work with the structure to build three-dimensional displays and plots and to generate statistical summaries of the neurons with far less effort than you could as a human.
Neurotransmitter Reuptake and Synaptic Vesicle Refilling

Intercellular information transfer in the nervous system is mediated by chemical neurotransmitters. The fidelity of this process requires the rapid release and clearance of the neurotransmitter from the synaptic cleft. In addition to metabolic pathways for synthesis of neurotransmitters, two specific mechanisms, vesicular storage and local reuptake, have evolved to facilitate neurotransmission. These processes are mediated by transporter proteins: vesicular neurotransmitter transporters to fill the vesicles and plasma membrane neurotransmitter transporters to clear the synaptic cleft. This chapter discusses the synthesis, packaging, and recycling of the classic neurotransmitters with an emphasis on the transporter proteins that are integral to these pathways.
Impact of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on Breast Cancer Subtype: Does Subtype Change and, if so, How? : IHC Profile and Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

Breast cancer subtype, as determined by the expression of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), together defined as hormone receptor (HR) status, and the HER2/neu receptor (HER2), is important in predicting prognosis and guiding therapy. Knowledge regarding how tumors evolve during treatment and whether subtype is influenced by neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) is limited. The purpose of this study was to compare the HR and HER2 status between core needle biopsy and residual tumor after surgery of breast cancer patients treated with nCT and to evaluate the impact of status change on therapeutic management. After institutional review board approval, we performed a retrospective review of all patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer who received nCT and had their initial biopsy and post-nCT surgical specimens evaluated for tumor subtype between January 2009 and December 2014 at our institution. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) of ER, PR, HER2, and fluorescence in situ hybridization for HER2 expression, when indicated, was performed using identical technique and measured by a single pathologist who specializes in breast pathology. Pre- and post-nCT subtype was cross-tabulated to assess change. Standard diagnostic metrics were computed. Fifty-two patients with 54 cancers were identified to have their initial biopsy and post-nCT surgical specimens evaluated for tumor subtype in identical fashion. There was a complete pathologic response after nCT in 23 cancers (42.6%). Residual disease was noted in 31 cancers (57.4%). Five of these (16.1%) had a change in tumor subtype, of which four changes were based on IHC. HR status changed from positive to negative in two cases and from negative to positive in one case. HER2 status changed from positive to negative in one case and from negative to positive in one case. Subtype change led to treatment change in all five cases, with either the addition or discontinuation of adjuvant therapies. Patients with breast cancer may experience alterations in their tumor subtype after nCT. At our institution, this led to a change in adjuvant treatment in 100% of such patients. This implies that retesting receptor status of residual tumors after nCT should be routinely performed to tailor adjuvant therapy after nCT.
Mental Health Care Services for African Americans: Parity or Disparity?

The social sciences have been very intentional in providing culturally responsive mental health services in the United States. Multicultural competencies and best practices have been integrated into all facets of research, training, and treatment practices. Yet pervasive ethnic and racial disparities still exist in mental health service utilization, especially for African Americans. Projected national demographic trends, federal health reformation to increase financial coverage for health care, and the decreasing stigma surrounding mental health care suggest that there will be an increased request for mental health care services. Despite empirical evidence of dissatisfactory experiences and incompetent care, little has been done to ensure parity in mental health care for the African American community. Extending the role of practitioners to include social justice and advocacy strategies is one way to remediate the disparities in mental health care.
Prognostic and predictive plasma cytokines and angiogenic factors (CAF) in patients (pts) with advanced non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma treated with first-line sunitinib or everolimus: Results from the ESPN trial.

e16112Background: There is a need for markers to guide treatment selection in non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma (nccRCC). We found that soluble tumor necrosis factor-α receptor-I (sTNFR-I) and in...
Effects of esophageal acidification on esophageal reflexes controlling the upper esophageal sphincter.

In acute studies, short-term esophageal acid exposure sensitizes esophagus to activation of esophago-upper esophageal sphincter relaxation response (EURR), whereas longer-term exposure inhibits EUR...
What Was Blogging

Recently, Jonathan Bellman and I agreed to shut down our blog, Dial “M” for Musicology. It feels like a momentous decision to me, partly because so much of my professional life has been devoted to ...
Social Justice and Applied Psychology: Practical Ideas for Training the Next Generation of Psychologists

Even though many applied psychology programs embrace a philosophy of social justice, faculty members and trainers are often faced with the practical struggle of implementing a social justice training agenda. This article discusses both the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing a social justice training agenda in applied psychology programs.
Human Resources Competencies: A Method to Enhance the Organizational Wisdom in Organizations: An Analytical Study of the Views of the Heads of Scientific Departments in the Al Qadisiyah University colleges

The present research aims at analyzing the so called Organizational Wisdom manipulated by Iraqi college head departments at the University of Al-Qadisiyah to reveal its effectiveness on achieving the consistency between the individual and organization as well. The present research is an attempt of finding proper scientific answer the three major questions, which are: 1) What are the main effective dimensions of Human Rights Competencies (HRC) in Universities? 2)What are the effective dimensions of OW? and How does (HR) competencies participate in enhancing OW? The research population of the study is composed of 54 scientific heads chosen from different faculties at Al-Qadisiyah University. The modal of statistical analysis adopted for analysing the study samples’ responses is (SPSS) software as well as Likert scale. The present research derives its significance from its tackling to one of the most contemporary knowledge turn points in the administrational modern thought represented by organizational wisdom as being the most important source to achieve the competitive aspect of the organizations and its sustainability in the third millennium after the amazing changes in the competitive advantage resources towards intangible resources, especially human resources competencies. After careful analyses of the study variables (dependent and independent variables) data following precise statistical methods and tables, recommendations have been yielded that some important of which are that the heads of the scientific departments at the university of Al Qadisiyah have the ability to use the dimensions of the independent variable and the behavior of the dependent variable from verbal and nonverbal treatment with other individuals, and changing the dialect or changing the tone of voice or facial expressions was practiced in a manner acceptable and clear by scientific departments heads in order to adapt and achieve compatibility with what is required by the values or behavioral considerations in educational institutions, as shown earlier through the general human variables competencies and organizational wisdom.
Forensic fractography of bone using computed tomography (CT) scans

Abstract Fractography is the study of fracture surface morphology and its relationship to crack propagation. Recent work has demonstrated the utility of fractography for interpreting crack propagation and impact direction in fractured bones as part of forensic anthropological trauma analyses on skeletonized remains. In this proof-of-concept work, we assess whether the science of fractography can be applied using CT scans of bone fractures. For CT scans to have practical potential for fractographic analysis, the resolution must sufficiently capture and reveal fracture surface features such as bone mirror, arrest ridges, wake features, and cantilever curl. A routine forensic postmortem CT of a fractured femur resulting from a motor vehicle accident was assessed from a volume rendering. Some of the smaller surface features were not observed due to the resolution of the CT scan, but several larger fractographic features were observed, permitting an interpretation of crack propagation and force direction. It therefore appears that fractography can be applied to CT scans and may have utility in forensic contexts for evaluating skeletal trauma. This approach may also have applications in clinical contexts, or in forensic investigations involving the injured living.
A comparison between a Neuro-Physiological Psychotherapy (NPP) treatment group and a control group for children adopted from care: Support for a neurodevelopmentally informed approach to therapeutic intervention with maltreated children.

Abstract Background Little evidence exists regarding outcomes of therapeutic interventions for maltreated children who are removed from their birth families and then adopted. This study follows on from a previous evaluation of the Neuro-Physiological Psychotherapy (NPP) model, which found significant, positive and sustained post-treatment change. Objective To compare the outcomes for the NPP intervention group to those of a control group. Participants and setting Participants were families who received the NPP intervention and families who, following assessment, did not receive the NPP intervention as recommended. Methods Groups were matched in terms of demographics and presentation at assessment. A comparison of outcomes took place using ANCOVA. Results Significant differences were found between group measures of Behavioral Regulation Index (moderate effect size, Cohen’s d = .435; F(1, 1505) = 14.476, p = .000) and Global Executive Functioning (BRIEF) (small effect size, Cohen’s d = .147; F(1, 3506) = 7.771, p = .008); mental health difficulties common in maltreated children (ACC/ACA) (small effect size, Cohen’s D = .212; F(1, 1100) = 6.197, p = .020) and externalizing behavior (CBCL) (small effect size, Cohen’s D = .025; F(1, 686) = 5.420, p = .025). A comparison of parent responses on quantitative aspects of a structured interview using chi-square analysis revealed significant differences between the groups on relationship quality (x2 (2, N = 53) = 10.453, p = .005 with a medium effect size, Cramer’s V = .444), disruption (x2 (1, N = 54) = 4.998, p = .025. The effect size was medium with Cramer’s V = .304), parental separation rates (x2 (1, N = 45) = 9.474, p = .002. The effect size was moderate with Cramer’s V = .459) and several indicators for longer-term social inclusion. The results are discussed in the light of the model’s neurodevelopmental and sequential approach, which focuses on sensory integration, affect regulation and therapeutic life story work alongside parent and school support. Conclusions Implications regarding current treatment guidelines for this population are discussed; and a call is made for interventions which actively consider and address the neurodevelopmental impact of maltreatment.
Delivery for respiratory compromise among pregnant women with coronavirus disease 2019.

Objective While rapid recourse to delivery after failed CPR has been shown to improve outcomes of pregnant patients with cardiac arrest,1,2 it is not known whether delivery improves or compromises the outcome of COVID patients with respiratory failure.3,4 Our objective was to evaluate the safety and utility of delivery of COVID-19 infected pregnant women needing respiratory support. Study Design This is a retrospective observational study of COVID-19 infected pregnant women (PCR diagnosed), with severe disease (defined per prior publications.3). A subset of these cases was previously presented, but without detail on the effect of delivery on disease (London, et al. “The Relationship Between Status at Presentation and Outcomes Among Pregnant Women with COVID-19” Am J Perinatol., in press). The study was exempted by IRB. Results Of 125 confirmed cases of COVID-19, twelve (9.6%) had severe disease (Table 1). Among the 12, three resolved spontaneously after transient respiratory support in hospital and were discharged home (one subsequently returned in preterm labor and delivered by cesarean two weeks later). Of the remaining nine who continued to need respiratory support, seven (77.8%) had iatrogenic preterm deliveries (six by cesarean delivery) for maternal respiratory distress (needing increasing levels of respiratory support without improved oxygen saturation), one had an early term delivery due to PROM, and one, now 30 weeks, has required intensive care with high-flow nasal cannula for three weeks. Of the eight patients delivering with maternal respiratory distress, seven did not require intubation, and one was intubated for emergent cesarean delivery, and remained on a ventilator for 19 days. Among the non-intubated, four had an improvement in oxygenation within two hours postpartum; two required less respiratory support, and two were taken completely off respiratory support. None of the other three required an increased level of respiratory support, and were off of all support between four and seven days postpartum. Conclusion Delivery did not worsen the respiratory status of women with persistent oxygen desaturation and the need for increasing respiratory support. Among women not needing a ventilator, return of normal respiratory status after delivery occurred within hours to days. The one patient intubated intraoperatively took longer to recover. It is possible delivery may be less salutary when damage to the lungs are sufficient to warrant intubation. This series suggests that maternal respiratory distress should not be a contraindication to delivery.
Asymptotically Optimal Stochastic Motion Planning with Temporal Goals

This work presents a planning framework that allows a robot with stochastic action uncertainty to achieve a high-level task given in the form of a temporal logic formula. The objective is to quickly compute a feedback control policy to satisfy the task specification with maximum probability. A top-down framework is proposed that abstracts the motion of a continuous stochastic system to a discrete, bounded-parameter Markov decision process (bmdp), and then computes a control policy over the product of the bmdp abstraction and a dfa representing the temporal logic specification. Analysis of the framework reveals that as the resolution of the bmdp abstraction becomes finer, the policy obtained converges to optimal. Simulations show that high-quality policies to satisfy complex temporal logic specifications can be obtained in seconds, orders of magnitude faster than existing methods.