cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differentiating Macular Holes from Macular Pseudoholes

Surgical treatments of macular holes have become increasingly effective in inducing resolution of the cuff of surrounding subretinal fluid, resulting in increased vision in many patients. However, for many conditions that mimic a macular hole, either surgery is not indicated or different surgical manipulations are necessary. Differentiating macular holes from some forms of macular pseudoholes can be difficult or impossible based solely on clinical examination. Adjunctive tests that may enhance the accuracy of diagnosis are either not feasible or not available to most clinical practices. We evaluated three clinic-based tests for their value in allowing the differentiation between macular holes and macular pseudoholes: Amsler grid testing, Watzke-Allen sign, and laser aiming beam test. These tests were evaluated in three groups of clinically defined patients: those with full-thickness macular holes, those with macular pseudoholes, and those who had previously undergone successful macular hole treatment. Although the Amsler grid testing was sensitive in correlating with clinically defined macular holes, it was not specific. The Watzke-Allen sign and, to a greater extent, the laser aiming beam test were extremely sensitive and specific in correlating clinically defined full-thickness macular holes and pseudoholes. These tests improve the accuracy of diagnosis of full-thickness macular holes.
Fever detection from free-text clinical records for biosurveillance

Automatic detection of cases of febrile illness may have potential for early detection of outbreaks of infectious disease either by identification of anomalous numbers of febrile illness or in concert with other information in diagnosing specific syndromes, such as febrile respiratory syndrome. At most institutions, febrile information is contained only in free-text clinical records. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of three level detection algorithms for detecting fever from free-text. Keyword CC and CoCo classified patients based on triage chief complaints: Keyword HP classified patients based on dictated emergency department reports. Keyword HP was the most sensitive (sensitivity 0.98, specificity 0.89), and Keyword CC was the most specific (sensitivity 0.61, specificity 1.0). Because chief complaints are available sooner than emergency department reports, we suggest a combined application that classifies patients based on their chief complaint followed by classification based on their emergency department report, once the report becomes available.
An Analysis of Stock Recommendations

We analyze the information content of stock recommendations by a sell-side equity analyst when investors are uncertain about the analyst's incentives. In our model, an analyst can either be "unbiased", having incentives that are congruent with those of the investor, or "biased", having incongruent incentives. We find that investor uncertainty about an analyst's incentives dramatically reduces the information content of stock recommendations. Specifically, when the investor cannot infer the analyst's bias simply from his recommendation, all perfect Bayesian equilibria of the game are equivalent to partition equilibria - equilibria where the analyst's recommendations correspond to a finite partition of the (continuous) state space. Partition equilibria are consistent with the traditional three-category system (buy, hold, and sell) frequently employed by analysts. These equilibria also have the properties that: (a) the possibility that an analyst is biased eliminates the incentives of even unbiased analysts to reveal all relevant information in their recommendations; (b) both types of analysts issue overly-optimistic recommendations, but the degree of over-optimism is greater for biased than for unbiased analysts; and (c) despite the information loss arising from uncertainty about the incentives of analysts, stock recommendations do contain some information and hence price responses to recommendations are consistent with rational investor behavior.
Daniel Lambert's Figure: Embodying Romantic Periodical Texts

One obituary for Daniel Lambert, who was made famous by his enormous body, begins by analogizing his physical size with the dimensions of print: “We have this day to swell our pages, with an articl...
A semi-empirical swell prediction model formulated from 'clay mineralogy and unsaturated soil' properties

Abstract Swell behavior of expansive clays is an inherent property that can be better explained through its hydro mechanical volume change behavior arising from soil attributes like matric suction and clay mineralogy information. Previous swell related modeling studies have not incorporated these attributes for swell behavior, thereby leading to poor to erroneous characterization practices. Both chemical and hydrological attributes of the soils are targeted in this expansive soil modeling. Eight natural expansive soils were collected and their swell strains were measured under different confining pressure conditions. Soil suction properties of expansive soils as well as soil water characteristic curves (SWCC's) were determined using standard measurement procedures including pressure plate and filter paper techniques. Slope of the paths traversed by the soil specimens in a void ratio — soil matric suction framework are determined and used as mechanical input parameters for the heave modeling. A new parameter, Mechanical Hydro Chemical Parameter (MHCP) is used that accounts for both matric suction and clay mineralogy information. This parameter is correlated with swell property measurements and the correlations developed provided reliable and reasonable swell property predictions. Independent validations with other soils are still needed for further enhancement of the MHCP framework for more reliable predictions.
The Anxious and Ambivalent Partisan The Effect of Incidental Anxiety on Partisan Motivated Recall and Ambivalence

Affective Intelligence Theory (AIT) asserts that anxiety reduces the effect of party identification on candidate preferences (Marcus, Neuman, and MacKuen 2000), but recent studies have raised doubts about this causal claim. Rather than functioning as a moderator of party identification, perhaps anxiety has a direct effect on preferences, or perhaps the relationship is reversed and preferences drive emotions (Ladd and Lenz 2008). Alternatively, Marcus et al.'s measure of anxiety may simply be capturing partisan ambivalence, so the posited relationship is spurious (Lavine, Johnston, and Steenbergen 2012). This paper addresses each of these questions by examining the effect of experimentally induced emotions on the types of considerations that came to mind when a national sample of adult Americans was asked what they liked and disliked about Barack Obama. By directly manipulating anxiety, this experiment avoids the causal ambiguity plaguing this debate and ascertains the true nature of the relationship between anxiety and ambivalence. Consistent with AIT, anxiety led respondents to recall more contemporary considerations, whereas enthusiasm brought to mind more long-standing considerations. Because the political context at the time of the study (fall 2013) was a very tumultuous time for the Obama administration, the increased accessibility of contemporary considerations led Democratic participants to experience more ambivalence in the anxiety condition. This effect was concentrated among those Democrats who were exposed to the most newspaper coverage.
Immunologic studies of prolactin.

SummaryRabbits immunized with relatively pure prolactin developed antibodies against this hormone. The antiserum seemed to be specific for prolactin, and could be used in an assay system capable of detecting as little as 0.026 μg (0.4 milliunits) of prolactin.
Remark on the paper by rao and kakehashi (2005).

The paper by Rao and Kakehashi [1] uses the Weibull distribution (given by equation (3) in the paper) and a truncated version of it (given by equations (4) and (5)) to model HIV/AIDS data in India. After a careful reading, I have found that all of the results presented in the appendix are incorrect (starting with equation (11) itself). Instead of pointing out all of the specific errors, I have chosen to give the correct formulas (and a brief outline of their derivation) for the $r$th moment of the truncated Weibull distribution.
Epidemiological analysis of class A and B infectious diseases in Zhenhai district,ningbo city,2009-2013

[Objective]To know the epidemic features and the incidence trend of Class A and B infectious diseases in Zhenhai District. [Method]The infectious disease data of Zhenhai District w ere analyzed by descriptive epidemiology.[Result]There were not Class A infectious diseases reported during 2009- 2013,and 4401 cases of 16 kinds of Class B infectious diseases w ere reported( 7 cases of AIDS and HIV,2 cases of A( H1N1) influenza,1 case of hemorrhagic fever,1 cases of encephalitis). The total reported incidence rate w as 237. 95 /100000,mortality rate w as 0. 59 /100000,and fatality rate w as 0. 25%. [Conclusion] The reported incidence rate of Class A and B infectious diseases decreased w ith years during 2009- 2013. Syphilis,gonorrhea,pulmonary tuberculosis and virus hepatitis w ere the major diseases w hich affected people's health in the district.
The Ripple Effects of Deportation Policies on Mexican Women and Their Children

Since 2009, the US government has deported a record high of 1.06 million people, nearly 400,000 each year. 1 This represents more than twice the 189,000 who were deported in 2001.2 Now at an all-time high, deportation and removal is one of the primary features of immigration enforcement efforts at the start of the twenty-first century.
Presidential Politics: López Portillo and De la Madrid

‘Presidentialism’ (presidencialismo) as a code word in contemporary Mexican political discourse divides two basic camps. To supporters of the status quo, the term signifies arrangements appropriate to Mexico’s reality: a strong, centralising institution, personified in a figure who can preserve order amid conflict and underdevelopment while advancing the Revolutionary projects. The PRI leadership point with pride to former presidents such as Lazaro Cardenas and Adolfo Lopez Mateos, who set high standards of statecraft. Within the party, the debate about presidentialism pits Tlaxcala governor Tulio Hernandez and others who call for limiting power against the CTM leadership and other supporters of continued centralisation.1 Outside the party, critics on both the right and left view presidentialism as the core institutional flaw of a system that permits no checks on the personal power of the incumbent and which must by its logic oppose democratising forces. Critics rest their case by conjuring up the still vivid memories of Luis Echeverrfa and Jose Lopez Portillo.
Development of a handheld smart dental instrument for root canal imaging.

Ergonomics and ease of visualization play a major role in the effectiveness of endodontic therapy. Using only commercial off-the-shelf components, we present the pulpascope—a prototype of a compact, handheld, wireless dental instrument for pulp cavity imaging. This instrument addresses the current limitations of occupational injuries, size, and cost that exist with current endodontic microscopes used for root canal procedures. Utilizing a 15,000 coherent, imaging fiber bundle along with an integrated illumination source and wireless CMOS sensor, we demonstrate images of various teeth with resolution of ∼48 μ m and angular field-of-view of 70 deg.
Response and tolerability of a 5-day azacytidine schedule in pateints with myelodysplastic syndromes

16532 Background: Azacitidine (AZA) is a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor with activity in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The current approved schedule of AZA is 75 mg/m2/d for 7 days...
Development of a flow-based planning support system based on open data for the City of Atlanta:

Open data have come of age with many cities, states, and other jurisdictions joining the open data movement by offering relevant information about their communities for free and easy access to the ...
Contracting in the Biofuel Sector

To accommodate rapid technological change in agriculture, contract farming has emerged as a market response to manage and share risks along the supply chain. Contract farming strengthens vertical coordination for producers and processors motivated by desire to decrease randomness, overcome credit and risk constraints, assure production targets, and address environmental considerations. Using contract theory perspective, this paper shows why multiple contract forms exist to address different types of risk, market size and maturity, and other constraints. Our findings suggest that, in the case of biofuels, contract design depends on land quality, output prices and markets, farmers’ risk preference, and other constraints. In establishing a refinery, the decision-maker must determine the size of refinery, quantity of in-house feedstock production, and strategy for purchasing additional feedstock. When facility capacity exceeds in-house production, the processor needs to rely on external feedstock. Processors and producers with higher land quality are shown to benefit from vertical integration, while lower land quality should result in conversion to biofuel production due to lower opportunity cost. As second generation feedstock production grows and matures, policies must consider contract design, technology adoption, and vertical integration.
A Brief History of Information Privacy Law

This book chapter provides a brief history of information privacy law in the United States from colonial times to the present. It discusses the development of the common law torts, Fourth Amendment law, the constitutional right to information privacy, numerous federal statutes pertaining to privacy, electronic surveillance laws, and more. It explores how the law has emerged and changed in response to new technologies that have increased the collection, dissemination, and use of personal information.
Improved detection of congestive heart failure via probabilistic symbolic pattern recognition and heart rate variability metrics

Abstract Objective A timely diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) is crucial to evade a life-threatening event. This paper presents a novel probabilistic symbol pattern recognition (PSPR) approach to detect CHF in subjects from their cardiac interbeat (R-R) intervals. Method PSPR discretizes each continuous R-R interval time series by mapping them onto an eight-symbol alphabet and then models the pattern transition behavior in the symbolic representation of the series. The PSPR-based analysis of the discretized series from 107 subjects (69 normal and 38 CHF subjects) yielded discernible features to distinguish normal subjects and subjects with CHF. In addition to PSPR features, we also extracted features using the time-domain heart rate variability measures such as average and standard deviation of R-R intervals. Results An ensemble of bagged decision trees was used to classify two groups resulting in a five-fold cross-validation accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of 98.1%, 100%, and 94.7%, respectively. However, a 20% holdout validation yielded an accuracy, specificity, and sensitivity of 99.5%, 100%, and 98.57%, respectively. Results from this study suggest that features obtained with the combination of PSPR and long-term heart rate variability measures can be used in developing automated CHF diagnosis tools.
The Health of the Rurality: The Encuesta de Folklore and Popular Healing Practices in Tucumán, 1921

This article examines healing practices among the rural inhabitants of Tucuman in the opening quarter of the twentieth century through a reading of the 1921 National Folklore Survey. It argues that popular medical practices, referred to as curanderismos (popular healing), continued into the twentieth century not only as cultural practice of the popular classes but as necessity due to limited investments in public health in the rural regions on the part of the national and provincial government.
Apophatic Universalism East and West: Rethinking Universality Today in the Interstices Between Cultures

The universal keeps up a constant pressure of self-surpassing on all forms of achieved identity; it undermines the self-satisfaction or sufficiency of any institutional form or structure. As such, it is the unconditioned that moves in history, reversing and overstepping all exclusions in its path. It keeps the common run of history and politics on the march and constantly in search of itself throughout never final metamorphoses. The universal prevents the common from declining into mere communitarianism, with its inevitably sectarian tendencies. The universal keeps humanity in quest of itself—guided by an ideal. Even though no culture can ever step outside of its own singularity, so as to be universally valid as such, since there is no position (or stable ground to stand on) outside all cultures and their respective languages, still a transcendental Unconditioned nevertheless motivates such aspirations. In Kant’s terms, which Francois Jullien evokes, the universal is effective as a “transcendental ideal.” Franke takes this thinking of universality and recasts it as culminating in the “apophatic universal.” The progressive role that the quest for universality plays throughout the history of Western thought can be more fully and adequately grasped when the universal is understood to be what could never be articulated and made explicit. This type of universality, moreover, is illuminated especially well by ancient Chinese traditions of thought. An intercultural method thereby emphatically recommends itself for the pursuit of philosophical insight in the apophatic vein.
Performative retelling: Healing community stories of loss through Playback Theatre

Restorative retelling (RR) is an evidence-based procedure for facilitating adaptation following traumatic bereavement. In this paper, we introduce performative retelling (PR), a variation on RR, which fosters healing from personal losses and portrays personal reactions to collective tragedy. We describe our collaboration with an ex-offender reentry program, the Memphis Police Department, and Playback Theatre to use improvisational community theatre to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the citizens they serve. We review program outcomes to-date and illustrate its impact using participant stories. We argue that training police and citizens in PR can potentially transform broken narratives of police-community relations.
Case Study: Zapotec Woman with HIV in Oaxaca, Mexico

Sofia is a 35-year-old, married Zapotec Indian woman living in a remote small mountainous village, approximately 8 hours away from the capital city of Oaxaca in Mexico. Sofia lives with her 43-year-old husband, Jose, and four children, ages 5, 6, 10, and 12. She had two other children who died prior to their first birthday. She finished the third grade but is unable to read very well in Zapoteca or in Spanish and has minimum writing skills. Unable to find employment at home, Jose worked as a farm laborer in the United States for the past 4.5 years to support his family. Separated from his family for a long time, Jose dealt with his loneliness by socializing at the local bar near his work where other Mexicans congregated. He often engaged in casual sexual relations with some of the prostitutes who frequented this bar. Five months ago Jose returned home and Sofia became pregnant again. After visiting the local health department clinic, Sofia became aware that she was not only pregnant but also HIV positive. Before her diagnosis, Sofia and her husband did not know much about HIV and how a person can contract the disease. (Note: the name and location of this woman and her family are fictitious.)
To be funny or not to be funny: Gender differences in student perceptions of instructor humor in college science courses

For over 50 years instructor humor has been recognized as a way to positively impact student cognitive and affective learning. However, no study has explored humor exclusively in the context of college science courses, which have the reputation of being difficult and boring. The majority of studies that explore humor have assumed that students perceive instructor humor to be funny, yet students likely perceive some instructor humor as unfunny or offensive. Further, evidence suggests that women perceive certain subjects to be more offensive than men, yet we do not know what impact this may have on the experience of women in the classroom. To address these gaps in the literature, we surveyed students across 25 different college science courses about their perceptions of instructor humor in college science classes, which yielded 1637 student responses. Open-coding methods were used to analyze student responses to a question about why students appreciate humor. Multinomial regression was used to identify whether there are gender differences in the extent to which funny, unfunny, and offensive humor influenced student attention to course content, instructor relatability, and student sense of belonging. Logistic regression was used to examine gender differences in what subjects students find funny and offensive when joked about by college science instructors. Nearly 99% of students reported that they appreciate instructor humor and reported that it positively changes the classroom atmosphere, improves student experiences during class, and enhances the student-instructor relationship. We found that funny humor tends to increase student attention to course content, instructor relatability, and student sense of belonging. Conversely, offensive humor tends to decrease instructor relatability and student sense of belonging. Lastly, we identified subjects that males were more likely to find funny and females were more likely to find offensive if a college science instructor were to joke about them.
From Dental to Mental Institutions: A Quadruple Threat of Nitrous-Oxide Administration Before and During Mental Asylum Admission.

Abstract During the 19th century, patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical and dental procedures were at risk of being given hypoxic or dilute nitrous oxide on four separate occasions. Primary and secondary saturation during surgery could account for two administrations of 100% nitrous-oxide anesthesia, while both diagnostic and therapeutic doses of dilute nitrous oxide were frequently administered in mental asylums.
Role of curcumin in preventing familial adenomatous polyposis.

Colorectal cancer (CRC), an age-related disease, which equally affects both males and females, is the third leading malignancy world-wide (1). In the United States and most of the western countries, CRC is estimated to be the second and third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and women respectively (2).
Novel Sjögren's autoantibodies found in fibromyalgia patients with sicca and/or xerostomia

Abstract Introduction A significant proportion of patients with fibromyalgia (FM) complain of dry eyes and mouth. Many Sjogren's syndrome (SS) patients also complain of FM symptoms, and there is literature that suggests that there is interplay between these two disorders. Recently, the presence of novel tissue specific autoantibodies (TSAs), SP-1, CA6, and PSP, has been observed in the early stages of SS. These early markers present themselves before the classic autoantibodies, such as SS-A/Ro, SS-B/La, ANA, and RF. Objective This study aims to examine the relationship between SS and FM by testing patients with FM who also complain of xerostomia and sicca symptoms, for SS- related biomarkers. Methods A cohort of 185 patients who met both the 1990 and 2010 preliminary diagnostic criteria for FM and who admitted to symptoms of sicca and/or xerostomia were selected for this study. Serum from 151 study patients was sent to a tertiary lab, Immco Diagnostics, for testing of the classic autoantibodies (SS-A/Ro, SS-B/La, ANA and RF) and TSAs (SP-1, CA6, PSP), while the rest (34 patients) were tested for TSAs only. Results Of the 151 patients who were evaluated for both the early and classic SS markers, 49 (32%) tested positive for SS autoantibodies. Of those, 4 (3%) tested positive for the classic SS markers only, 40 (26%) of the patients tested positive for the early SS markers only, and 5 (3%) tested positive for both the early and classic SS markers. Of the 34 patients who were tested for early SS markers only, 10 (29%) tested positive and 24 (71%) tested negative. Further analysis of all the patients that tested positive for the TSAs (n = 55), found 83.6% (46) were positive for SP-1, 12.7% (7) were positive for CA6 and 20.0% (11) were positive for PSP. 85.5% (47) of these patients were positive for only one of the TSAs and 14.5% (8) were positive for more than one TSA. Conclusion Approximately 1/3 of FM patients that were tested for both the TSAs and classic Sjogren's markers tested positive for a SS biomarker, and the majority of those patients tested positive for one or more of the TSAs. This suggests that autoimmunity, specifically early- stage Sjogren's syndrome, may be involved in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia.
Technology solutions to mitigate electricity cost for electric vehicle DC fast charging

Abstract Widespread adoption of alternative fuel vehicles is being hindered by high vehicle costs and refueling or range limitations. For plug-in electric vehicles, direct-current fast charging (DCFC) is proposed as a solution to support long-distance travel and relieve range anxiety. However, DCFC has also been shown to be potentially more expensive compared to residential or workplace charging. In particular, electricity demand charges can significantly impact electricity cost for fast charging applications. Here we explore technological solutions that can help reduce the electricity cost for electric vehicle fast charging. In particular, we consider thousands of electricity rates available in the United States and real-world vehicle charging load scenarios to assess opportunities to reduce the cost of DCFC by deploying solar photovoltaics (PV) panels and energy storage (battery), and implementing a co-location configuration where a DCFC station is connected to an existing meter within a commercial building. Results show that while the median electricity cost across more than 7000 commercial retail rates remains less than $0.20/kWh for all charging load scenarios considered, cost varies greatly, and some locations do experience significantly higher electricity cost. Co-location is almost always economically viable to mitigate fixed cost and demand charges, but the relative benefit of co-locating diminishes as station size and utilization increase. Energy storage alone can help mitigate demand charges and is more effective at reducing costs for “peaky” or low-utilization loads. On the other hand, PV systems primarily help mitigate energy charges, and are more effective for loads that are more correlated with solar production, even in areas with lower solar resource. PV and energy storage can deploy synergistically to provide cost reductions for DCFC, leveraging their ability to mitigate demand and energy charges.
Impact on survival of surveillance imaging after first remission in follicular lymphoma.

7536Background: While most patients (pts) with follicular lymphoma (FL) achieve an initial response to treatment, the majority relapse. Recently, Goldman et al. reported that surveillance imaging (...
Inhibition of Stat3 sensitizes resistant human ovarian cancer cells to paclitaxel

3292 Recent evidence demonstrates that IL-6 may contribute to anti-apoptotic effects and multi-drug resistance in many tumor cell types. IL-6 signal transduction is mediated through the Stat3 pathway. Previous studies have determined that IL-6 levels are elevated in ascites and blood of ovarian cancer patients. Additionally, the IL-6 receptor is expressed on paclitaxel resistant ovarian cancer cell lines. Our laboratory evaluated the IL-6-Stat3 signaling pathway in both paclitaxel sensitive and resistant ovarian cancer and further evaluated the effects of disrupting either Stat3 expression or activation on the drug resitant phenotype. Examination of relative Stat3 expression levels in paclitaxel sensitive and resistant human cancer cell lines demonstrated that Stat3 and activated phosphorylated Stat3 are overexpressed in a subset of paclitaxel resistant cells as compared to their expression in paclitaxel sensitive cells. Analysis of Stat3-dependent gene expression using a luciferase reporter construct confirmed that the elevated Stat3 and phosphoStat3 detected in resistant lines led to increased luciferase expression in all three drug resistant cell lines studied. Transfection of paclitaxel resistant cells with Stat3 siRNAs resulted in a highly significant decrease in paclitaxel resistance with Western blot analysis confirming a decrease in Stat3 expression levels in transfected cells. Similar results in the same cell lines were obtained with the JAK kinase inhibitor AG490. These results demonstrate that Stat3 pathway inhibitors are able to reverse the drug resistant phenotype in tumor cells. Our current data provide important information about the specific role of Stat3 in mediating paclitaxel resistance and suggest that either paracrine or autocrine activation of the IL-6/Stat-3 pathway may support the drug resistant phenotype in human ovarian cancer.
TIP60 up-regulates ΔNp63α to promote cellular proliferation

An estimated 5.4 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer are reported in the United States at an associated cost of $4.8 billion. ΔNp63α, a proto-oncogene in the p53 family of transcription factors, is overexpressed in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and associated with poor prognosis and survival. ΔNp63α elicits its tumorigenic effects in part by promoting cellular proliferation and cell survival. Despite its importance in SCC, the upstream regulation of ΔNp63α is poorly understood. In this study, we identify TIP60 as a novel upstream regulator of ΔNp63α. Using a combination of overexpression, silencing, stable expression, and pharmacological approaches in multiple cell lines, we showed that TIP60 up-regulates ΔNp63α expression. Utilizing cycloheximide treatment, we showed that TIP60 catalytic activity is required for stabilization of ΔNp63α protein levels. We further showed that TIP60 coexpression inhibits ΔNp63α ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation. Stabilization of ΔNp63α protein was further associated with TIP60-mediated acetylation. Finally, we demonstrated that TIP60-mediated regulation of ΔNp63α increases cellular proliferation by promoting G2/M progression through MTS assays and flow cytometry. Taken together, our findings provide evidence that TIP60 may contribute to SCC progression by increasing ΔNp63α protein levels, thereby promoting cellular proliferation.
Ristocetin Exposes the ADAMTS13 Cleavage Site of Von Willebrand Factor and Enhances VWF Cleavage

Abstract 4317 Ristocetin, a peptide antibiotic from the soil bacterium Nocardia lurida, has been used for decades as a tool to diagnose deficiency or dysfunction of von Willebrand factor (VWF) in von Willebrand disease. Ristocetin is able to assess the functional state of VWF because it induces the interaction of VWF with the platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib-IX-V complex in the absence of shear stress or VWF immobilization, conditions normally required in vivo for their interaction. Presumably, ristocetin is able to do this by inducing an allosteric change in VWF that exposes the binding site for GPIbα. Ristocetin is one of two widely used modulators of the VWF–GPIb α interaction (the other being botrocetin), and the one that induces an interaction that most closely mimics shear-induced platelet adhesion and aggregation. Recently, Shim et al, (Blood, 2008;111(2):651-7) demonstrated that VWF bound to platelets was a better substrate for the plasma metalloprotease ADAMTS13, raising the possibility that exposure of the GPIbα binding site on VWF could be coupled to exposure of the ADAMTS13 cleavage site. Another possibility would be that the tensile force experienced by a VWF strand with multiple bound platelets in a shear field would be sufficient to stretch VWF and expose the ADAMTS13 cleavage site. We therefore evaluated whether ristocetin alone could enhance ADAMTS13 cleavage of VWF in the absence of shear force. We used four VWF sources for these experiments: plasma; purified, multimeric VWF from plasma; a recombinant fragment encompassing the three A domains (A1A2A3); and two recombinant A2 domains, one containing a previously identified ristocetin-binding site between D1459 and P1465, and the other lacking it. Ristocetin at 1.0 mg/ml induced the cleavage of VWF by ADAMTS13 in plasma or of the purified multimeric form as efficiently as did 1.5 M urea, the standard reagent and concentration used for this assay. Similarly, ristocetin accelerated cleavage of the monomeric A1A2A3 fragment. Finally, and somewhat surprisingly, ristocetin accelerated cleavage of the isolated A2 domain, but only when the D1459–P1465 sequence was included in the construct. Vancomycin, a related antibiotic, did not have this effect. Our data suggest that exposure of the ADAMTS13 cleavage site is not only induced by tensile force in vivo, but also by other more subtle biochemical forces. These findings also indicate that exposure of the binding site for GPIbα is coupled to exposure of the ADAMTS13 cleavage site in VWF, perhaps providing part of the explanation for why platelet-bound VWF is a better ADAMTS13 substrate and for why newly released ultralarge VWF is both capable of spontaneously binding platelets and of being cleaved rapidly by ADAMTS13 in the presence of minimal shear stress. Finally, our findings also suggest that ristocetin might be a more specific reagent to evaluate the activity of ADAMTS13 for cleaving multimeric VWF in vitro. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Video-based automatic and objective endoscopic sinus surgery skill assessment

There is an increasing need for automatic and objective surgical skill assessment methods to make the surgeon training process more effective. We studied an automatic skill assessment system based on the surgical instrument tip trajectories extracted from cadaveric trans-nasal endoscopic sinus surgery videos. We proposed a tracking algorithm by combining a segmentation-based instrument tip detector and Kalman filter. For surgical skill assessment, we explored four new motion-related metrics. The proposed method has been tested with 10 surgery videos from 4 experts and 5 trainees and shown its potential for the automatic surgical skill assessment.
Genes and Behavior: Lessons from the Fruit Fly

Abstract Behavior draws on the activities of a wide range of genes acting at many different times in an individual’s life. Model organisms have provided insight into the role of genes in behavior that have major implications for humans. Many of the mutations and genetic variants (alleles) that affect behavior in the fruit fly Drosophila have proved to be subtle changes in genes that, when more severely mutated, produce wider ranging effects. These studies based on model organisms have also provided information on the circuitry underlying behavior. Their study has made major contributions to our understanding of innate and learned behaviors, and points to the importance of network interactions among genes as well as among neurons in producing behavior.
Lipid rafts interaction of the ARID3A transcription factor with EZRIN and G-Actin regulates B cell receptor signaling

Previously we demonstrated that the ARID3A transcription factor shuttles between the nucleus and the plasma membrane, where it localizes within lipid rafts. There it interacts with components of the B Cell Receptor (BCR) to reduce its ability to transmit downstream signaling. We demonstrate in this report that a direct component of ARID3A-regulated BCR signal strength is cortical Actin. ARID3A interacts with Actin exclusively within lipid rafts via the Actin binding protein EZRIN, which confines unstimulated BCRs within lipid rafts. BCR ligation discharges the ARID3A-EZRIN complex from lipid rafts allowing the BCR to initiate downstream signaling events. The ARID3A-EZRIN interaction occurs almost exclusively within unpolymerized G-Actin where EZRIN interacts with the multifunctional ARID3A REKLES domain. These observations provide a novel mechanism by which a transcription factor directly regulates BCR signaling.
Leaders Are Not Fiduciaires

Leaders have long been described as fiduciaries because they are entrusted with the power to make decisions that significantly affect the lives and welfare of others. While trustworthiness is an admirable and necessary quality in a leader, fiduciary doctrine describes neither the bounds of a leader’s behavior nor the protections enjoyed by the governed. Fiduciary doctrine does not occupy the field of trusting relationships. Leaders sell both the goals and priorities they will pursue in their positions and their own trustworthiness—that is, the combination of ability, integrity, and benevolence they bring to the task. In order to win and keep leadership positions, leaders must define success for constituents and convince them that they can be relied upon to deliver those results according to a given standard of decency. Fiduciary rhetoric obscures, rather than supports, the elements of trust that leaders must sell to their constituents. Those who are vulnerable to the decision-making of powerful others are harmed by their own belief in fiduciary rhetoric that does nothing to constrain the behavior of leaders who are driven by self-interest. Fiduciary rhetoric does not describe how leaders make decisions, and fiduciary doctrine cannot protect those who select and rely on leaders. By deceiving and misdirecting those it aims to protect, the fiduciary myth does real harm. This Article makes three novel theoretical contributions to the literature. First, it argues that contrary to popular and scholarly opinion, conscientious leaders of large, diverse groups are not, and cannot be, fiduciaries of those they lead. Second, it models a more accurate understanding of how leaders are constrained by those affected by their decisions. Third, it presents an explanation of why the fiduciary myth, long viewed as harmless at worst, is actually harmful to those it is supposed to protect. It animates these arguments by focusing on the specific relationships between corporate and political leaders and their constituents.
The Presence of Courses that Address Diversity in Community College Curricula

With the growing diversity of the population in the United States, it is becoming increasingly important to teach students about issues related to diversity. This is especially true in the communit...
Cascaded Time + Time-Frequency Unet For Speech Enhancement: Jointly Addressing Clipping, Codec Distortions, And Gaps

Speech enhancement aims to improve speech quality by eliminating noise and distortions. While most speech enhancement methods address signal independent additive sources of noise, several degradations to speech signals are signal dependent and non-additive, like speech clipping, codec distortions, and gaps in speech. In this work, we first systematically study and achieve state of the art results on each of these three distortions individually. Next, we demonstrate a neural network pipeline that cascades a time domain convolutional neural network with a time-frequency domain convolutional neural network to address all three distortions jointly. We observe that such a cascade achieves good performance while also keeping the action of each neural network component interpretable.
Using Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) in the Community.

For ORT to have a maximum impact on public health it should be used in the community, in the home. A number of programs have been developed over the years to extend ORT to home use. One of the most successful approaches was the Oral Therapy Education Program (OTEP) developed by BRAC, the world’s largest NGO. Mothers were taught in the home by an OTEP worker using seven simple messages and a demonstration. The program, which led to high levels of use and knowledge retention, is described. What the OTEP and other successful home-based programs have demonstrated is that home care of diarrhea using ORS can be effectively implemented and can have a positive impact on the reduction of diarrhea morbidity and mortality.
Behavioral Expression of Contextual Fear in Male and Female Rats

The study of fear conditioning has led to a better understanding of fear and anxiety-based disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite the fact many of these disorders are more common in women than in men, the vast majority of work investigating fear conditioning in rodents has been conducted in males. The goal of the work presented here was to better understand how biological sex affects contextual fear conditioning and expression. To this end, rats of both sexes were trained to fear a specific context and fear responses were measured upon re-exposure to the conditioning context. In the first experiment, male and female rats were given context fear conditioning and tested the next day during which freezing behavior was measured. In the second experiment, rats were trained and tested in a similar fashion while fear-potentiated startle and defecation were measured. We found that males showed more freezing behavior than females during a fear expression test. The expression of fear-potentiated startle did not differ between sexes, while males exhibited more defecation during a test in a novel context. These data suggest that the expression of defensive behavior differs between sexes and highlight the importance of using multiple measures of fear when comparing between sexes.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)-Induced Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy Prognosis in Geriatric Setting

An 86-year-old female with a past medical history of hypertension, vertebral fractures with chronic lumbar pain, hip fracture, osteoporosis, deafness, and microcytic anemia underwent hospital admission for emergency medical management of her respiratory distress. The (overall) diagnostic workup confirmed COVID-19, the patient presented with 50% SPO2 (oxygen saturation), sinus tachycardia, diffuse bilateral pulmonary crackles, mild jugular venous distention (JVD), minimal bilateral pitting edema, elevated cardiac enzymes, bilateral pulmonary opacities, and ST-segment elevation. The cardiovascular assessment indicated stress-induced cardiomyopathy/Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TCM) determined by 35%-40% LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction), mid to apical left ventricular (LV) akinesia with preserved function in the proximal segment, aortic valve sclerosis, reduced excursion of Trileaflet valve (without stenosis), and mild-to-moderate tricuspid regurgitation with moderate pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP). The treatment protocol relied on 81 mg aspirin, 75 mg plavix, 20 mg lipitor, remdesivir, dexamethasone, ceftriaxone, azithromycin, red blood cells transfusion (pRBCs), endotracheal intubation for respiratory support, and systemic hemodynamic support. The patient's condition did not improve despite all treatment, and she passed away after seven days following her hospital admission.
Predictive Modeling of Colonoscopic Findings in a Fecal Immunochemical Test-Based Colorectal Cancer Screening Program.

The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is the primary modality used by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LADHS) for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening in average-risk patients. Some patients referred for FIT-positive diagnostic colonoscopy have neither adenomas nor more advanced pathology. We aimed to identify predictors of false-positive FIT (FP-FIT) results in our largely disenfranchised, low socioeconomic status population. We conducted a retrospective study of 596 patients who underwent diagnostic colonoscopy following a positive screening FIT. Colonoscopies showing adenomas (or more advanced pathology) were considered positive. We employed multiple logistic and linear regression as well as machine learning models (MLMs) to identify clinical predictors of FP-FIT (primary outcome) and the presence of advanced adenomas (secondary outcome). Overall, 268 patients (45.0%) had a FP-FIT. Female sex and hemorrhoids (odds ratios [ORs] 1.59 and 1.89, respectively) were associated with increased odds of FP-FIT and fewer advanced adenomas (β = − 0.658 and − 0.516, respectively). Conversely, increasing age and BMI (ORs 0.94 and 0.96, respectively) were associated with decreased odds of FP-FIT and a greater number of advanced adenomas (β = 0.073 and 0.041, respectively). MLMs predicted FP-FIT with high specificity (93.8%) and presence of advanced adenoma with high sensitivity (94.4%). Increasing age and BMI are associated with lower odds of FP-FIT and greater number of advanced adenomas, while female sex and hemorrhoids are associated with higher odds of FP-FIT and fewer advanced adenomas. The presence of the aforementioned predictors may inform the decision to proceed with diagnostic colonoscopy in FIT-positive patients.
Appropriateness and subsequent management of inpatient echocardiograms: An evaluation of low value care

Abstract Study objective Transthoracic echocardiograms (TTE) are perceived to be overused and multiple TTEs are often ordered within one inpatient visit with unclear utility. This study identified inpatients who received multiple TTEs to determine the appropriateness, results, and subsequent management of repeat TTEs. Design Retrospective Cohort Study. Setting Single academic medical center. Participants Subjects over age 18 who underwent >1 TTE during hospitalization in 2020. Interventions N/A Main outcome measures Appropriateness of TTE, TTE results, subsequent changes in management. Results Of the 875 subjects, the average age was 60 years old with a male predominance (57.8%). In comparing the first and second TTE results, the frequency of new abnormal findings decreased significantly from 44.7% to 15.1% (p Conclusions While the rate of inappropriate TTE use increased after the initial TTE, the overall rate of inappropriate use was very small indicating that stricter adherence to AUC would not appreciably reduce duplication of inpatient TTEs. The non-negligible frequency of new abnormal findings for the repeat TTEs at 15% cannot be ignored. Our data suggests that the assumption that repeat TTEs are in large part unnecessary is more complicated than originally thought.
Quasielastic Neutron Scattering in Metal Hydrides: Effects of the Quantum Mechanical Motion of Interstitial Hydrogen Atoms

The traditional theme of metal hydride transport analysis has employed an equation for the probability P l (t) that a hydrogen atom occupies an interstitial site l in the host metal at a time t1 $$\frac{d}{{dt}}{P_\ell }\left( t \right) = {\Sigma _{\ell '}}\left[ {{\Gamma _{\ell \ell '}}{P_{\ell '}}\left( t \right) - {\Gamma _{\ell '\ell }}{P_\ell }\left( t \right)} \right] $$ (1) where Γ ll’ is the hopping rate from site l’ to site l. The inadequacy of such treatments has led more recent investigations to con-sider correlations between jumps and correlations in continuous time.2 We will discuss here a transport instrument particularly well suited to the analysis of such memory effects, and we will illustrate the nature of these effects on the quasielastic scattering function.