cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Frequency of hypoglycaemia during the intravenous glucose tolerance test in overweight children

The study aimed to assess the frequency of hypoglycaemia during the insulin-modified, frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test (FSIVGTT) in overweight Hispanic children. The study included 210 children, mean age=11±1.7 years, BMI percentile=97.2±2.9 who where enrolled in a longitudinal study to explore risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Two fasting blood samples were collected to determine basal glucose and insulin concentrations. At time 0, glucose (0.3 g/kg body weight) was administered intravenously. Eleven blood samples were collected until 180 min post glucose injection. Insulin (0.02 U/kg body weight) was injected intravenously at 20 min. Plasma was analyzed for glucose and insulin and used for the determination of insulin sensitivity. Hypoglycaemia, defined as a plasma glucose<50 mg/dl, was observed in one asymptomatic subject (<0.5% subjects). In addition, only 1.9% of subjects (n=4) had plasma glucose<60 mg/dl at any time during the FSIVGTT. The frequency of hypoglycaemia during the i...
Analysis of Infection Thread Development Using Gfp- and DsRed-Expressing Sinorhizobium meliloti

Sinorhizobium meliloti growth inside infection threads was monitored after inoculation of alfalfa with red- or green-tagged bacteria. Most threads were populated with single bacterial types. Mixed infections were present but gave mixed nodules less often than expected. These patterns are explained by a model describing bacterial growth during infection.
Review article: uptake of pepsin at pH 7 - in non-acid reflux -causes inflammatory, and perhaps even neoplastic, changes in the laryngopharynx

SUMMARY We describe herein how pepsin causes laryngeal epithelial cell damage at pH 7, and thus in non-acidic refluxate. Our data may help explain why some patients have refractory symptoms on maximal proton pump inhibitor therapy, and help explain the reported symptom association with non-acidic reflux events. We report mitochondrial and Golgi damage in laryngeal epithelial cells exposed to pepsin at pH 7. Cell toxicity was also demonstrated using the MTT cytoxicity assay. Pepsin at pH 7 significantly alters the expression levels of multiple genes implicated in stress and toxicity. We also report that pepsin (0.1 mg ⁄ mL, pH 7) induces a pro-inflammatory cytokine gene expression profile in hypopharyngeal FaDu epithelial cells in vitro similar to that which contributes to disease in gastro-oesophageal reflux patients. Moreover, using a Human Cancer PathwayFinder SuperArray, we have shown that pepsin (0.1 mg ⁄ mL, pH 7) significantly alters the expression of 27 genes implicated in carcinogenesis. Collectively, these data suggest a mechanistic link between exposure to pepsin, even in non-acidic refluxate, and cellular changes that lead to laryngopharyngeal disease including cancer. In this context, our unexpected finding that pepsin is taken up by human laryngeal epithelial cells by receptor-mediated endocytosis is highly relevant. Pepsin has been previously assumed to cause damage by its proteolytic activity alone, but our discovery that pepsin is taken up by laryngeal epithelial cells by receptormediated endocytosis opens the door to a new mechanism for cell damage, and downstream, the development of new therapies for reflux disease – receptor antagonists and ⁄ or pepsin inhibitors.
Evidence of Seasonal Eggs in Anopheles punctipennis (Diptera: Culicidae)

Anopheles punctipennis (Say), collected in October from resting sites in Illinois, deposited two morphologically distinct types of egg batches. One type was similar to the seasonal “winter” egg of Anopheles walkeri Theobald, with an extensive exochorion that covered all except the tip of the egg. Laboratory rearing of isofemale lines, under two different light–dark and temperature cycles, demonstrated that both types of eggs were intraspecific variants. Fx females from all “winter” egg batches deposited only normal eggs when reared under a 12:12 (L:D) cycle and at 25°C. Most An. punctipennis reared under a 8:16 (L:D) cycle with variable temperature exhibited gonotrophic dissociation or accumulated fat body.
The Emerging Role of Electrodeposition in Additive Manufacturing

Recent advances in rapid prototyping technologies have generated a surge of users and applications for additive manufacturing. Driving this surge is the availability of easy-to-use integrated software/hardware platforms that can directly convert a computer aided design file into the fabricated object, accelerating the design-build-test cycle. Despite these advances, a similar shift to fully software-reconfigurable electrodeposition-based prototyping has yet to emerge. Current commercial electrodeposition fabrication techniques involve hardware masks or stamps to develop their patterns, placing limitations on their reconfigurablility. However, the elements of fully software reconfigurable electrodeposition-based rapid prototyping are emerging. In this article, we review some of the most commercially successful rapid prototyping technologies currently available, describe existing commercial electrodeposition systems such as EFAB/MICA, and highlight the efforts in our lab to develop software reconfigurable electrodeposition freeform fabrication techniques for additive manufacturing.
Cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors

Progression through the eukaryotic cell cycle is regulated by the activities of a family of cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs). These kinases are negatively regulated by phosphorylation and by the action of cyclin kinase inhibitors (CKIs). In mammalian cells, two classes of CKIs have been identified, the INK4 class and the CIP/KIP class. These CKIs are versatile negative regulators of CDK function and have potential roles in development, checkpoint control and tumour suppression. Analysis of CKI knockout indicates that although these inhibitors are not generally required for survival, the phenotypes observed span the gamut of what might be expected for loss of a cell cycle inhibitor. This chapter summarizes our current understanding of the roles of CKIs in growth control.
MO-B-201-00: Motion Management in Current Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) Practice

The motion management in stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a key to success for a SBRT program, and still an on-going challenging task. A major factor is that moving structures behave differently than standing structures when examined by imaging modalities, and thus require special considerations and employments. Understanding the motion effects to these different imaging processes is a prerequisite for a decent motion management program. The commonly used motion control techniques to physically restrict tumor motion, if adopted correctly, effectively increase the conformity and accuracy of hypofractionated treatment. The effective application of such requires one to understand the mechanics of the application and the related physiology especially related to respiration. The image-guided radiation beam control, or tumor tracking, further realized the endeavor for precision-targeting. During tumor tracking, the respiratory motion is often constantly monitored by non-ionizing beam sources using the body surface as its surrogate. This then has to synchronize with the actual internal tumor motion. The latter is often accomplished by stereo X-ray imaging or similar techniques. With these advanced technologies, one may drastically reduce the treated volume and increase the clinicians’ confidence for a high fractional ablative radiation dose. However, the challenges in implementing the motion management may not be trivial and is dependent on each clinic case. This session of presentations is intended to provide an overview of the current techniques used in managing the tumor motion in SBRT, specifically for routine lung SBRT, proton based treatments, and newly-developed MR guided RT. Learning Objectives: Through this presentation, the audience will 1. understand basic roles of commonly used imaging modalities for lung cancer studies; 2. familiarize the major advantages and limitations of each discussed motion control methods; 3. familiarize the major advantages and limitations of each discussed radiation beam control methodology and tumor tacking method; 4. understand the key points in motion management for a high quality SBRT program.
Simultaneous two-color stimulated Raman scattering microscopy by adding a fiber amplifier to a 2 ps OPO-based SRS microscope

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is a label-free chemical imaging technique. Two-color imaging is often necessary to determine the distribution of chemical species in SRS microscopy. Current multi-color SRS imaging methods involve complicated instrumentation or longer data acquisition time or are limited to transmission imaging. In this Letter, we show that by adding a simple fiber amplifier to a 2 ps laser source and optical-parametric-oscillator-based SRS setup, one can achieve simultaneous two-color or frequency modulation SRS microscopy. The fiber amplifier can generate a wavelength tunable laser of ±10 nm around the Stokes laser wavelength at 1031 nm with average power greater than 200 mW. In vivo and ex vivo lipid–protein imaging of mouse brain and skin is demonstrated. To further demonstrate the potential of this technique in high-speed in vivo imaging, white blood cells in a blood stream are imaged in a live mouse.
A Novel and Unifying View of Trustworthiness in Cyberphysical Systems

The objective of this work was to study how to assess trustworthiness of computer systems and software used in cyberphysical applications, by developing a multifaceted assessment method and building models based on theories, which rely on non-probabilistic methods and have not been used for such purposes before: (1) Bayesian belief networks, (2) rough sets, (3) Dempster–Shafer theory of evidence, and (4) particle filters. The project objective was accomplished by assuming that trustworthiness is related to the confidence in the results with which related system parameters are evaluated, and then addressing the issue from the perspective of each of the four theories, using a computational model of a cyberphysical system and applying these theories in simple case studies, which can be extended for use in practice.
Microcystin Activates Renal NOX2 and Exacerbates Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease-induced Ectopic Glomerulonephritis

Clinical evidence show NAFLD results in cardiovascular, intestinal and renal complications. Previous reports from our laboratory exhibited NAFLD induced ectopic inflammatory manifestations in the kidney that gave rise to glomerular inflammation. Extending our studies, we hypothesized that existing inflammatory conditions in NAFLD could make the kidneys more susceptible to environmental toxins. Microcystin-LR, a crucial component of harmful algal blooms has been shown to be hepatotoxic. Our results showed that exposure of MC in NAFLD mice caused a significant increase in mesangial cell activation as evidenced by increased a-SMA in the extracellular matrix surrounding the glomeruli. The kidneys surrounding the glomeruli also had increased NOX2 activation as shown by increased co-localization of p47 Phox and its membrane component gp91. To show whether NOX2 activation was crucial to microcystin exposure and exacerbation of renal toxicity, experiments were designed in vitro with immortalized mesangial cells of mouse origin. The cells incubated with (a) apocynin and (b) nitrone spin trap DMPO showed significantly decreased a-SMA, miR21 levels and proinflammatory cytokine release in the supernatant. In parallel, mice lacking miR21, a proinflammatory miR, known to be activated by NOX2, when exposed to MC in NAFLD showed decreased mesangial cell activation. Mechanistically, phenyl boronic acid incubated cells that are exposed to MC showed significantly decreased mesangial cell activation showing that peroxynitrite might be the major reactive species involved in mediation the activation process, release of proinflammatory micro RNAs and cytokines that are crucial for renal toxicity. Thus, in conclusion, MC exposure causes NOX2 activation that leads to mesangial cell activation and toxicity via releases of peroxynitrite and miR21.
Simulation in Obstetrics

Simulation in obstetrics is a widely accepted and valuable tool that benefits all levels of learners from medical students to maternal-fetal medicine subspecialists. What began as an adjunct to medical education now has a rapidly expanding role in acquisition of new and innovative procedures, team and unit training, and safety and quality initiatives. The number of obstetric simulation peer-reviewed reports has increased exponentially in recent years, yet only a small percentage of reports primarily addresses clinical outcomes. Studies link simulation to a reduction in neonatal brachial plexus injury, maternal trauma related to forceps delivery, response to postpartum hemorrhage, efficiency in performing emergent cesarean delivery, and neonatal mortality. Simulation is a required component in accredited obstetrics and gynecology residency training programs. Obstetric simulation has a role in the certification of physicians, and simulation hands-on courses may be used to meet maintenance of certification requirements. As simulation platforms are validated, they are likely to be incorporated into the certification process as a means of assessing technical and communication skills. Accrediting, certifying, professional, quality, and safety organizations have invested in simulation committees, interest groups, curricula, and continuing medical education courses. Support for research, including large multicenter trials, are needed to inform further implementation. Research and development should lead to lower costs and improved simulators. As the public, government, licensing, and credentialing institutions explore means of improving patient safety, expansion of simulation in obstetrics is inevitable.
Eliciting intelligent novice behaviors with grounded feedback in a fraction addition tutor

Standard intelligent tutoring systems give immediate feedback on whether students' answers are correct. This prevents unproductive floundering, but may also prevent students from engaging deeply with their misconceptions. This paper presents a prototype intelligent tutoring system with grounded feedback that supports students in evaluating and correcting their own errors. In a think-aloud study with five fifth-graders, students used the grounded feedback to self-correct, and solved more fraction addition problems with the tutor than with paper and pencil. These preliminary results are encouraging and motivate experimental work in this area.
Pathways to International Cooperation

When states cooperate, they are often unwilling or unable to move directly to substantively deep and highly legalized multilateral agreements due to collective action problems arising from several forms of uncertainty. We identify three strategies by which states can nevertheless move gradually from lower to higher levels of cooperation along dynamic "pathways" that address different types of uncertainty. First, the Framework Convention Pathway, exemplified by the Vienna ozone convention-Montreal Protocol regime, allows states to adopt legalized multilateral agreements despite technological uncertainty about the state of the world. States manage the risk of such agreements by beginning with fairly shallow substantive commitments and deepening those commitments as they learn more about the problem, potential solutions and the benefits of cooperation. Second, the Plurilateral Pathway, exemplified by the gradual expansion of the European Union, allows states to deal with uncertainty about whether and which other states are committed to and capable of effective cooperation. Here states manage the risks of free riding by beginning with strong, legalized agreements limited to core groups of members demonstrably committed to and capable of cooperation, then gradually adding members who can demonstrate similar levels of commitment and capability. Third, the Soft Law Pathway, exemplified by substantively detailed but non-binding instruments ranging from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the FAO-UNEP guidelines on trade in pesticides and chemicals, allows states to address political uncertainty regarding how international agreements will be received domestically. The nonbinding nature of these undertakings allows states to introduce them on a tentative basis while preserving the ability to back away if strong domestic opposition emerges. Advocates of cooperative agreements will prefer different pathways according to the relative influence each approach offers them. States maintain the greatest control over the formal (and often closed) treaty-making processes of the Plurilateral Pathway, for example, whereas nongovernmental organizations are relatively advantaged in the Soft Law Pathway. Different institutions are also better suited to particular pathways, leading advocates to shop for effective forums. The WTO is a poor site for Soft Law approaches, for example, while APEC and the G-8 are poor hosts for highly legalized Plurilateral and Framework Convention processes. Finally, the three pathways are ideal types; in practice they are blended and sequenced to deal with specific problems over time.
Hyperinsulinemia: A Merging History with Idiopathic Tinnitus, Vertigo, and Hearing Loss

The history of neurootology and the history of diabetes mellitus have their earliest but separate recognition in ancient Egyptian medicine. Both the polyuric condition resembling diabetes and "humming in the ear" now known as tinnitus were described. Yallow's refinement of a radioinununoassay for insulin demonstrated increased insulin (hyperinsulinemia) in known diabetics. Glucose-insulin tolerances corroborated Y allow's findings. Specific hyperinsulinemia patterns of non-Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, type II (NIDDM) have been identified. Hyperinsulinemia precedes hyperglycemia. Hyperinsulinemia with normal glucose tolerance is the earliest identifier of NIDDM. In 1977, Updegraff identified hyperinsulinemia with idiopathic Meniere's disease. Sustained clinical response was achieved in all who maintained nutritional management. This finding was the first major impact of hyperinsulinemia in the clinical arena. Subsequently, Updegraff's studies were substantiated by others. As a result, the clinical pathology of hyperinsulinemia has become a major factor in multiple medical disciplines. The hyperinsulinemia associated with idiopathic tinnitus, vertigo, and hearing loss and the hyperinsulinemia of NIDDM, without regard for glycemia status, are one and the same entity. The merging relationship preceded the clinical recognition of both entities. A retrospective relationship to ancient Egyptian medicine and before is considered to be most probable.
Mockup driven web development

Dynamic web development still borrows heavily from its origins in CGI scripts: modern web applications are largely designed and developed as programs that happen to output HTML. This thesis proposes to investigate the idea taking a mockup-centric approach instead, in which self-contained, full page web mockups are the central artifact driving the application development process. In some cases, these mockups are sufficient to infer the dynamic application structure completely.This approach to mockup driven development is made possible by the development of a language the thesis develops, called Cascading Tree Sheets (CTS), that enables a mockup to be annotated with enough information so that many common web development tasks and workflows can be eliminated or vastly simplified. CTS describes and encapsulates a web page's design structure the same way CSS describes its styles. This enables mockups to serve as the input of a web application rather than simply a design artifact. Using this capability, I will study the feasibility and usability of mockup driven development for a range of novice and expert authorship tasks. The thesis aims to finish by demonstrating that the functionality of a domain-specific content management system can be inferred automatically from site mockups.
LASER-GENERATED SHOCKWAVE EXPERIMENTS AT EXTREME HIGH PRESSURES

We discuss the application of high-power lasers to production of extreme high pressures. Shock velocities consistent with pressures up to 2 TPa in aluminum have already been measured, and experiments in the 4 TPa range are now planned. We describe the status of our programs to develop new diagnostic techniques and perform experiments to characterize perturbing influences on the shock.
PACS-Based Computer-Aided Detection and Diagnosis

The ultimate goal of Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)-based Computer-Aided Detection and Diagnosis (CAD) is to integrate CAD results into daily clinical practice so that it becomes a second reader to aid the radiologist’s diagnosis. Integration of CAD and Hospital Information System (HIS), Radiology Information System (RIS) or PACS requires certain basic ingredients from Health Level 7 (HL7) standard for textual data, Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) standard for images, and Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) workflow profiles in order to comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements to be a healthcare information system. Among the DICOM standards and IHE workflow profiles, DICOM Structured Reporting (DICOM-SR); and IHE Key Image Note (KIN), Simple Image and Numeric Report (SINR) and Post-processing Work Flow (PWF) are utilized in CAD-HIS/RIS/PACS integration. These topics with examples are presented in this chapter.
Bulk Separation of Neuronal Cell Bodies and Glial Cells in the Absence of Added Digestive Enzymes

Since the appearance of the procedure of Norton and Poduslo (1970), reviewed in detail in the first volume of this series, several new procedures for the bulk separation of neuronal cell bodies and glial cells have been reported in which all steps are carried out in the cold and no digestive enzyme(s) (Norton and Poduslo, 1970; Hemminki and Holmila, 1971; Giorgi, 1971; Kuenzle et al., 1972) is used to facilitate cell separation. In this chapter, we give a detailed description of these procedures and we also present a general survey of their applications in cellular neurochemistry.
Immunotherapy for glioblastoma: going viral.

Intratumoral infusion of a nonpathogenic replication-competent recombinant polio-rhinovirus chimera for recurrent glioblastoma demonstrates safety and promising preliminary treatment responses.
Book Review of The Green Ghost: William Burroughs and the Ecological Mind // Reseña de The Green Ghost: William Burroughs and the Ecological Mind

Book review of The Green Ghost: William Burroughs and the Ecological Mind . Resumen Resena de The Green Ghost: William Burroughs and the Ecological Mind.
Exploring the Short-Term Impacts of a Community-Based Book Distribution Program.

This article presents findings from the first year of a multiyear investigation of the implementation of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library (DPIL) book distribution program as part of one communi...
Patient Knowledge and Attitudes towards Genetic Testing in Parkinson’s Disease Subjects with Deep Brain Stimulation

Objectives. As genetic testing is becoming more widely commercially available for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and may have implications regarding clinical outcomes for deep brain stimulation (DBS) and other therapies, we aimed to determine patient knowledge and attitudes towards genetic testing. Methods. A sample of 88 PD subjects with bilateral STN-DBS completed a Genetic Attitudes Questionnaire (GAQ). Knowledge and attitudes towards genetic testing were assessed. Results. The mean percent of correct responses regarding genetic testing knowledge was 58.5%. Nearly 90% of subjects were unfamiliar with Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The most important reasons subjects cited in deciding whether to undergo genetic testing included (1) to be a candidate for clinical trials if positive, (2) to learn that they do not carry a mutation, and (3) because a healthcare provider had recommended it. Individuals who influence decision-making include spouses and children. About 88% of subjects would share results with spouses, children, and siblings. Discussion. These results reveal that there is a major knowledge gap regarding genetic testing in PD and the implications of testing results on treatment, work, insurance, and privacy. Also, subjects would mainly seek genetic testing to participate in clinical trials, with spouses and children being the key stakeholders in decision-making.
µqSim: Enabling Accurate and Scalable Simulation for Interactive Microservices

Current cloud services are moving away from monolithic designs and towards graphs of many loosely-coupled, single-concerned microservices. Microservices have several advantages, including speeding up development and deployment, allowing specialization of the software infrastructure, and helping with debugging and error isolation. At the same time they introduce several hardware and software challenges. Given that most of the performance and efficiency implications of microservices happen at scales larger than what is available outside production deployments, studying such effects requires designing the right simulation infrastructures. We present j);qSim, a scalable and validated queueing network simulator designed specifically for interactive microser-vices. µqSim provides detailed intra- and inter-microservice models that allow it to faithfully reproduce the behavior of complex, many-tier applications. µqSim is also modular, allowing reuse of individual models across microservices and end-to-end applications. We have validated µqSim both against simple and more complex microservices graphs, and have shown that it accurately captures performance in terms of throughput and tail latency. Finally, we use µqSim to model the tail at scale effects of request fanout, and the performance impact of power management in latency -sensitive microservices.
Intersectionalities and the HIV continuum of care among gay Latino men living with HIV in North Carolina

ABSTRACTObjectiveLatino men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV in the US and only half of Latinos diagnosed with HIV are virally suppressed. Little is known about th...
Walnuts and Vegetable Oils Containing Oleic Acid Differentially Affect the Gut Microbiota and Associations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Follow-up of a Randomized, Controlled, Feeding Trial in Adults at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease.

Background It is unclear whether the favorable effects of walnuts on the gut microbiota are attributable to the fatty acids, including α-linolenic acid (ALA), and/or the bioactive compounds and fiber. Objective This study examined between-diet gut bacterial differences in individuals at increased cardiovascular risk following diets that replace SFAs with walnuts or vegetable oils. Methods Forty-two adults at cardiovascular risk were included in a randomized, crossover, controlled-feeding trial that provided a 2-wk standard Western diet (SWD) run-in and three 6-wk isocaloric study diets: a diet containing whole walnuts (WD; 57-99 g/d walnuts; 2.7% ALA), a fatty acid-matched diet devoid of walnuts (walnut fatty acid-matched diet; WFMD; 2.6% ALA), and a diet replacing ALA with oleic acid without walnuts (oleic acid replaces ALA diet; ORAD; 0.4% ALA). Fecal samples were collected following the run-in and study diets to assess gut microbiota with 16S rRNA sequencing and Qiime2 for amplicon sequence variant picking. Results Subjects had elevated BMI (30 ± 1 kg/m2), blood pressure (121 ± 2/77 ± 1 mmHg), and LDL cholesterol (120 ± 5 mg/dL). Following the WD, Roseburia [relative abundance (RA) = 4.2%, linear discriminant analysis (LDA) = 4], Eubacterium eligensgroup (RA = 1.4%, LDA = 4), LachnospiraceaeUCG001 (RA = 1.2%, LDA = 3.2), Lachnospiraceae UCG004 (RA = 1.0%, LDA = 3), and Leuconostocaceae (RA = 0.03%, LDA = 2.8) were most abundant relative to taxa in the SWD (P ≤ 0.05 for all). The WD was also enriched in Gordonibacter relative to the WFMD. Roseburia (3.6%, LDA = 4) and Eubacterium eligensgroup (RA = 1.5%, LDA = 3.4) were abundant following the WFMD, and Clostridialesvadin BB60group (RA = 0.3%, LDA = 2) and gutmetagenome (RA = 0.2%, LDA = 2) were most abundant following the ORAD relative to the SWD (P ≤ 0.05 for all). Lachnospiraceae were inversely correlated with blood pressure and lipid/lipoprotein measurements following the WD. Conclusions The results indicate similar enrichment of Roseburia following the WD and WFMD, which could be explained by the fatty acid composition. Gordonibacter enrichment and the inverse association between Lachnospiraceae and cardiovascular risk factors following the WD suggest that the gut microbiota may contribute to the health benefits of walnut consumption in adults at cardiovascular risk. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02210767.
Histopathologic Features of Lymphedema: A Molecular Review

An estimated 5 million people in the United States are affected by secondary lymphedema, with most cases attributed to malignancies or malignancy-related treatments. The pathogenesis of secondary lymphedema has historically been attributed to lymphatic injury or dysfunction; however, recent studies illustrate the complexity of lymphedema as a disease process in which many of its clinical features such as inflammation, fibrosis, adipogenesis, and recurrent infections contribute to on-going lymphatic dysfunction in a vicious cycle. Investigations into the molecular underpinning of these features further our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disease and suggests new therapeutics.
Confirmation Bias Affects Estimation of Blood Loss and Amniotic Fluid Volume: A Randomized Simulation-Based Trial.

Objective This study was aimed to determine if confirmation bias affects diagnoses in obstetrics, specifically estimation of blood loss and amniotic fluid volume. Study design We performed a randomized simulation-based trial. Participants went through the following three consecutive scenarios: (1) the first involved estimating the volume of blood (actually a blood-like substance) in a container at the simulation model's perineum. The actual volume was either 500 or 1,500 mL. Participants were told it was blood seen after a vaginal delivery. One group was told that the "patient" was normotensive, the other was told that the "patient" was hypotensive. (2) The second scenario involved estimation of amniotic fluid from an ultrasound picture of four quadrants, with one group told that the patient was normotensive and the other group told that the patient had chronic hypertension. (3) The third scenario was a "negative image" of the first (i.e., if they had been randomized to the 500 mL/normotensive in scenario one, then they would be presented with the 1,500 mL/hypotensive). They also filled a survey including demographics and tolerance of ambiguity and confirmation bias scales. Results From April 2018 through May 2018, a convenience sample of 85 providers was recruited. Participants were more likely to overestimate blood loss when they were told that the patient was hypotensive (p = 0.024), in comparison to when they were told the patient had normal blood pressure. They were also less likely to estimate the amniotic fluid as normal when they were told that the patient was hypertensive (p = 0.032). Conclusion Confirmation bias affects estimates of blood loss and amniotic fluid.
Genetic algorithm search for the worst‐case MRI RF exposure for a multiconfiguration implantable fixation system modeled using artificial neural networks

Purpose This paper presents a method to search for the worst-case configuration leading to the highest RF exposure for a multiconfiguration implantable fixation system under MRI. Methods A two-step method combining an artificial neural network and a genetic algorithm is developed to achieve this purpose. In the first step, the level of RF exposure in terms of peak 1-g and/or 10-g averaged specific absorption rate (SAR1g/10g ), related to the multiconfiguration system, is predicted using an artificial neural network. A genetic algorithm is then used to search for the worst-case configuration of this multidimensional nonlinear problem within both the enumerated discrete sample space and generalized continuous sample space. As an example, a generic plate system with a total of 576 configurations is used for both 1.5T and 3T MRI systems. Results The presented method can effectively identify the worst-case configuration and accurately predict the SAR1g/10g with no more than 20% of the samples in the studied discrete sample space, and can even predict the worst case in the generalized continuous sample space. The worst-case prediction error in the generalized continuous sample space is less than 1.6% for SAR1g and less than 1.3% for SAR10g compared with the simulation results. Conclusion The combination of an artificial neural network with genetic algorithm is a robust technique to determine the worst-case RF exposure level for a multiconfiguration system, and only needs a small amount of training data from the entire system.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of semi-synthetic albocycline analogs.

Abstract Albocycline (ALB) is a unique macrolactone natural product with potent, narrow-spectrum activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-intermediate (VISA), and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA) strains (MIC = 0.5–1.0 μg/mL). Described herein is the synthesis and evaluation of a novel series analogs derived from albocycline by functionalization at three specific sites: the C2-C3 enone, the tertiary carbinol at C4, and the allylic C16 methyl group. Exploration of the structure-activity relationships (SAR) by means of minimum inhibitory concentration assays (MICs) revealed that C4 ester analog 6 was twice as potent as ALB, which represents a class of lead compound that can be further studied to address multi-drug resistant pathogens.
Promote Retinal Lesion Detection for Diabetic Retinopathy Stage Classification

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a health issue which is characterized by an elevated glucose level in the bloodstream. Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) stage classification plays an important role in diagnosis of patient for Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Different DR stages could normally be distinguished by various retinal lesions. In this work, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) based retinal lesion detection method has been deployed to recognize microaneurysms (MAs) and hard exudates (HEs) in fundoscopic images in order to further facilitate DR stage classification. The proposed approach has achieved significant accuracy performance increase compared to the previous methods in DR stage classification.
Quality evaluation of noodles

Abstract Scientific quality evaluations are fundamental to research into noodles. The processing quality is based on flours that hydrate easily and doughs that can be easily lengthened and decreased in thickness during sheeting. These attributes are assessed visually or by direct online or offline assessments of doughs. Cooking quality is evaluated for optimum cooking time, cooking losses, and cooked noodle yields. Color and appearance are always important and can be assessed visually, by colorimeters, or by digital image analyses. End-product quality, other than appearance, is driven by texture, and there are both instrumental and sensory evaluations. Instrumental methods rely on compressive or tensile testing of cooked noodles although advances in ultrasound assessments make this newer technique accessible. Sensory methods can be hedonic or intensity rating and fulfill different needs in end-product testing: intensity ratings to test for the degree of a change; hedonic ratings to see if the change is liked.
Frontline Science: The expression of integrin αDβ2 (CD11d/CD18) on neutrophils orchestrates the defense mechanism against endotoxemia and sepsis

Neutrophil-macrophage interplay is a fine-tuning mechanism that regulates the innate immune response during infection and inflammation. Cell surface receptors play an essential role in neutrophil and macrophage functions. The same receptor can provide different outcomes within diverse leukocyte subsets in different inflammatory conditions. Understanding the variety of responses mediated by one receptor is critical for the development of anti-inflammatory treatments. In this study, we evaluated the role of a leukocyte adhesive receptor, integrin αD β2 , in the development of acute inflammation. αD β2 is mostly expressed on macrophages and contributes to the development of chronic inflammation. In contrast, we found that αD -knockout dramatically increases mortality in the cecal ligation and puncture sepsis model and LPS-induced endotoxemia. This pathologic outcome of αD -deficient mice is associated with a reduced number of monocyte-derived macrophages and an increased number of neutrophils in their lungs. However, the tracking of adoptively transferred fluorescently labeled wild-type (WT) and αD -/- monocytes in WT mice during endotoxemia demonstrated only a moderate difference between the recruitment of these two subsets. Moreover, the rescue experiment, using i.v. injection of WT monocytes to αD -deficient mice followed by LPS challenge, showed only slightly reduced mortality. Surprisingly, the injection of WT neutrophils to the bloodstream of αD -/- mice markedly increased migration of monocyte-derived macrophage to lungs and dramatically improves survival. αD -deficient neutrophils demonstrate increased necrosis/pyroptosis. αD β2 -mediated macrophage accumulation in the lungs promotes efferocytosis that reduced mortality. Hence, integrin αD β2 implements a complex defense mechanism during endotoxemia, which is mediated by macrophages via a neutrophil-dependent pathway.
Coupling Studies in Near Field Wireless Power Transfer using a Ground Plane and Helical Antennas

Two different wireless power transfer (WPT) configurations are being studied with the goal of optimizing received power. In the first case, two high-Q helical antennas are placed on opposite sides of a ground plane where the receiving antenna is a characteristic length or more above it and the transmitting antenna is placed close to it on the other while still not making contact. In the second configuration, both receiver and transmitter are opposite sides and equidistance from the ground plane. Measurements indicate, significantly better results in the second case. These results indicate the possibility of creating an enhanced power coupling system for wireless charging using the second configuration.
Rad-GTPase contributes to heart rate via L-type calcium channel regulation.

Abstract Sinoatrial node cardiomyocytes (SANcm) possess automatic, rhythmic electrical activity. SAN rate is influenced by autonomic nervous system input, including sympathetic nerve increases of heart rate (HR) via activation of β-adrenergic receptor signaling cascade (β-AR). L-type calcium channel (LTCC) activity contributes to membrane depolarization and is a central target of β-AR signaling. Recent studies revealed that the small G-protein Rad plays a central role in β-adrenergic receptor directed modulation of LTCC. These studies have identified a conserved mechanism in which β-AR stimulation results in PKA-dependent Rad phosphorylation: depletion of Rad from the LTCC complex, which is proposed to relieve the constitutive inhibition of CaV1.2 imposed by Rad association. Here, using a transgenic mouse model permitting conditional cardiomyocyte selective Rad ablation, we examine the contribution of Rad to the control of SANcm LTCC current (ICa,L) and sinus rhythm. Single cell analysis from a recent published database indicates that Rad is expressed in SANcm, and we show that SANcm ICa,L was significantly increased in dispersed SANcm following Rad silencing compared to those from CTRL hearts. Moreover, cRadKO SANcm ICa,L was not further increased with β-AR agonists. We also evaluated heart rhythm in vivo using radiotelemetered ECG recordings in ambulating mice. In vivo, intrinsic HR is significantly elevated in cRadKO. During the sleep phase cRadKO also show elevated HR, and during the active phase there is no significant difference. Rad-deletion had no significant effect on heart rate variability. These results are consistent with Rad governing LTCC function under relatively low sympathetic drive conditions to contribute to slower HR during the diurnal sleep phase HR. In the absence of Rad, the tonic modulated SANcm ICa,L promotes elevated sinus HR. Future novel therapeutics for bradycardia targeting Rad – LTCC can thus elevate HR while retaining βAR responsiveness.
Direct Chemical Vapor Deposition Synthesis of Porous Single-Layer Graphene Membranes with High Gas Permeances and Selectivities.

Single-layer graphene containing molecular-sized in-plane pores is regarded as a promising membrane material for high-performance gas separations due to its atomic thickness and low gas transport resistance. However, typical etching-based pore generation methods cannot decouple pore nucleation and pore growth, resulting in a trade-off between high areal pore density and high selectivity. In contrast, intrinsic pores in graphene formed during chemical vapor deposition are not created by etching. Therefore, intrinsically porous graphene can exhibit high pore density while maintaining its gas selectivity. In this work, the density of intrinsic graphene pores is systematically controlled for the first time, while appropriate pore sizes for gas sieving are precisely maintained. As a result, single-layer graphene membranes with the highest H2 /CH4 separation performances recorded to date (H2 permeance > 4000 GPU and H2 /CH4 selectivity > 2000) are fabricated by manipulating growth temperature, precursor concentration, and non-covalent decoration of the graphene surface. Moreover, it is identified that nanoscale molecular fouling of the graphene surface during gas separation where graphene pores are partially blocked by hydrocarbon contaminants under experimental conditions, controls both selectivity and temperature dependent permeance. Overall, the direct synthesis of porous single-layer graphene exploits its tremendous potential as high-performance gas-sieving membranes.
The case for leveraging multiple resource pedagogies: Teaching about racism in a secondary history classroom

Abstract This qualitative case study analyzes how one secondary history teacher enacted three resource pedagogies to teach about systemic racism and encourage his students to explore the topic. Drawing on observations, meetings, and interviews, the paper illustrates the affordances of culturally responsive, culturally relevant, and culturally sustaining practice, especially when leveraged together. The author argues that this synergistic approach is necessary when teachers are addressing challenging topics. The case study highlights how the teacher embodied unique aspects of each pedagogy, offers loving critiques of how resource pedagogies are interpreted and implemented, and discusses implications for kindergarten to grade 12 (K-12) research, teaching, and teacher education.
A computer vision approach for automated analysis and classification of microstructural image data

Abstract The ‘bag of visual features’ image representation was applied to create generic microstructural signatures that can be used to automatically find relationships in large and diverse microstructural image data sets. Using this representation, a support vector machine (SVM) was trained to classify microstructures into one of seven groups with greater than 80% accuracy over 5-fold cross validation. In addition, the bag of visual features was implemented as the basis for a visual search engine that determines the best matches for a query image in a database of microstructures. These novel applications demonstrate the potential and the limitations of computer vision concepts in microstructural science.
Uncoupling of M-Phase Kinase Activation from the Completion of S-Phase by Heat Shock

Chronic exposure of asynchronous HeLa cell cultures to 41.5°C leads to an accumulation of cells in the S-phase, spontaneous premature chromosome condensation, and loss of clonogenicity (M. A. Mackey, S. L. Anolik, and J. L. Roti Roti. Cancer Res., 52: 1101–1106, 1992). In this report, we show that increases in histone H1 kinase activity during 41.5°C exposure occur coincidentally with the appearance of premature chromosome condensation. Furthermore, this kinase activity is shown to be associated with M-phase kinase complexes containing cyclin B1. These increases in the activity of M-phase kinase were found to occur concomitantly with an elevation in cyclin B1 mRNA and an accumulation of cyclin B1 protein. Because cyclin B1 transcription begins in the S-phase, it is probable that the heat-induced delay in the S-phase allows the accumulation of abnormally high cyclin B1 levels. Elevated cyclin B1 levels could then account for the observed abrogation of the cell cycle checkpoint, which usually assures that mitosis does not proceed until DNA replication is complete. This involvement of M-phase kinase in heat-induced cytotoxicity demonstrates the importance of the coordinate regulation of the processes of DNA replication and entry into mitosis.
A 600 kHz electrically-coupled MEMS bandpass filter

This paper presents a 600 kHz MEMS bandpass filter implemented using electrical coupling of single crystal silicon HARPSS micromechanical resonators. Passive and active filter synthesis approaches based on electrical coupling of capacitive MEMS resonators are introduced and discussed. A third order passive bandpass filter at the center frequency of 600 kHz with a bandwidth of 125 Hz, a stopband rejection of 48 dB, and a 20 dB-shape-factor of 2.1 is demonstrated. A quality factor (Q) enhancement technique based on active electrical cascading of the resonators is also presented. A 3-stage active cascade at 600 kHz demonstrated a 2/spl times/ increase in the effective Q.
Charm Mixing - Theory

We discuss Standard Model (SM) and New Physics (NP) descriptions of D0 mixing. The SM part of the discussion addresses both quark level and hadron level contributions. The NP part describes our recent works on the rate difference Delta Gamma_D and the mass difference Delta M_D. In particular, we describe how the recent experimental determination of Delta M_D is found to place tightened restrictions on parameter spaces for 17 of 21 NP models considered in a recent paper by Hewett, Pakvasa, Petrov and myself.
Capacity and Commitment: How Decentralization in Brazil Impacts Poverty and Inequality

In the ﬁrst decade after the transition to democracy, Brazil shifted from a highly centralized contributory health system that served only formal sector workers to a decentralized universal system in which subnational governments bore nearly full l responsibility for the provision of health services. This paper explores the changes that decentralization has created in the distributive nature of Brazil’s health system. I use comparative historical analysis to trace the development of Brazilian health policy along these four dimensions (decentralization, ideological commitment, and ﬁscal and administrative capacity) and explore their impact on the distributive nature of the health system in two subnational cases--Bahia and Sao Paulo. For health policies to be equity-enhancing—favoring the poor and traditionally disadvantaged societal groups—several conditions are necessary. An ideological commitment to equity must exist on the part of those responsible for health policy and the ﬁscal and administrative capacity to develop and execute equitable policies is also necessary. The depth and type of decentralization set the bounds of what is possible and commitment and capacity are determining factors for health policy and outcomes. Over the course of the democratic period, national commitment and capacity have increased. For Brazil, enhancing equity in health would require increasing the capacity of subnational governments and ensuring that political actors at all levels are committed to the national health system (SUS).