cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do Meio- and Macrobenthic Nematodes Differ in Community Composition and Body Weight Trends with Depth?

Nematodes occur regularly in macrobenthic samples but are rarely identified from them and are thus considered exclusively a part of the meiobenthos. Our study compares the generic composition of nematode communities and their individual body weight trends with water depth in macrobenthic (>250/300 µm) samples from the deep Arctic (Canada Basin), Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and the Bermuda slope with meiobenthic samples (<45 µm) from GOM. The dry weight per individual (µg) of all macrobenthic nematodes combined showed an increasing trend with increasing water depth, while the dry weight per individual of the meiobenthic GOM nematodes showed a trend to decrease with increasing depth. Multivariate analyses showed that the macrobenthic nematode community in the GOM was more similar to the macrobenthic nematodes of the Canada Basin than to the GOM meiobenthic nematodes. In particular, the genera Enoploides, Crenopharynx, Micoletzkyia, Phanodermella were dominant in the macrobenthos and accounted for most of the difference. Relative abundance of non-selective deposit feeders (1B) significantly decreased with depth in macrobenthos but remained dominant in the meiobenthic community. The occurrence of a distinct assemblage of bigger nematodes of high dry weight per individual in the macrobenthos suggests the need to include nematodes in macrobenthic studies.
The macroscopic vascular anatomy of the equine ethmoidal area

The vascular anatomy of the ethmoidal area in six normal horses and two normal ponies was studied using vascular-corrosion casts. The major arterial supply to the ethmoidal area stems from an intracranial source. The internal and external ethmoidal arteries anastomose on the rostral intracranial surface of the cribriform plate to form the arterial ethmoidal rete which arborizes and passes through the perforations of the cribriform plate to supply the ethmoid labyrinth. A minor arterial supply to the ventral portion of the ethmoid labyrinth stems from a small caudal nasal branch of the sphenopalatine artery. Multiple parallel venules drain the ethmoid labyrinth rostrally to its apex then join the venous drainage from the surrounding sinuses.
Prospects for Improving Cognition Throughout the Life Course

Life expectancy is at an all-time high and is likely to continue to improve rapidly in the future (Wang & Preston, 2009); this, coupled with a modest birth rate, means that the proportion of older adults will continue to grow in the United States, with the strongest growth occurring in the number of ‘‘oldest old’’—those over the age of 85. Absent dramatically higher levels of immigration and higher rates of productivity growth, it is likely that all of us will either be consuming far less before and after retirement or working much longer than we might have expected. The current economic crisis has resulted in huge losses in financial assets including 401(k) retirement accounts; older workers close to retirement may choose to work much longer than they expected, while some of those already retired may try to return to the labor force. In this context, it has become imperative for us to preserve or enhance cognitive functioning among older adults and to compress the duration of any cognitive decline. But what can be done to prevent and remediate agerelated declines in cognition? Given the central role that cognition plays in determining an individual’s independence and well-being, this becomes a very serious question for research. Hertzog, Kramer, Wilson, and Lindenberger (2008, this issue) present what we believe is the most comprehensive review to date of the science of cognitive improvement in aging and present a clear picture of the barriers to progress in this area. Although they take a clear stand on the question of whether it is possible to remediate age-related cognitive decline (for the impatient, their answer is: Yes we can!), those holding opposing points of view will also find much value in this monograph. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) considers this topic to be one of paramount importance. In 2007, the NIA and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation cosponsored a Cognitive Aging Summit that prominently featured animated discussion of cognitive enhancement in aging (see http://www.health.ufl.edu/ brain/summit/index.htm for meeting materials). NIA’s research focus on enhancement spans many levels, from genes to cells to neural circuits to systems and on up through social engagement and societies. Hertzog and colleagues cover many of these levels in some detail, so we will only point out some selected areas that received less attention here and that could have important implications for the public interest and future research.
Global Echoes in the Caribbean Playground

Becoming West Indian: Culture, Self and Nation in St. Vincent. Virginia Heyer Young Global Culture, Island Identity: Continuity and Change in the Afro-Caribbean Community of Nevis. Karen Fog Olivig Us and Them in Modern Societies. Thomas Hylland Eriksen Women and Change in the Caribbean. Janet H. Momsen, ed.
Price‐increasing competition

In a discrete choice model of product differentiation, the symmetric duopoly price may be lower than, equal to, or higher than the single-product monopoly price. Whereas the market share effect encourages a duopolist to charge less than the monopoly price because a duopolist serves fewer consumers, the price sensitivity effect motivates a higher price when more consumer choice steepens the firm's demand curve. The joint distribution of consumer values for the two conceivable products determines the relative strength of these effects. The analysis provides precise conditions for price-increasing competition and reveals that it is unexceptional from a theoretical perspective.
Acizzia jamatonica (Kuwayama) (Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha: Psyllidae): U.S. distribution of a recently detected Asian psyllid.

Abstract The East Asian psyllid Acizzia jamatonica (Kuwayama) develops mainly on mimosa or silk tree (Albizia julibrissin Durazz.; Fabaceae). First recorded from Europe in 2001, the psyllid was detected in the Nearctic Region at two locales in Georgia, U.S.A, in 2006. Our surveys of mimosa in the southeastern United States in 2007 and 2008 indicate that A. jamatonica is widespread. It is newly reported from Alabama (9 counties), Florida (6), North Carolina (3), South Carolina (12), and Tennessee (4); 19 additional counties are reported for Georgia. The known U.S. distribution of the psyllid is mapped, a taxonomic diagnosis and description are provided to facilitate its recognition in the Nearctic fauna, and notes are given on its seasonality and habits. Also provided are color photographs of an overwintered (dark) and summer (green) adult, eggs, fourth- and fifth-instar nymphs, and injury to mimosa leaflets.
Why scientific hypnosis needs psychoanalysis (or something like it).

Abstract The author contends that some contemporary hypnosis theories are restricted and narrow in scope, rendering them unnecessarily isolated from mainstream models of human development, psychopa-thology, and personality functioning. They seem to explain hypnosis and little else. The author contrasts this with psychoanalysis, which, although sometimes overly expansive, does nonetheless lend itself to the generation of specific hypothesis via careful deduction from a general theory of human behavior and experience. For illustrative purposes, the author criticizes the sociocognitive perspective of hypnosis contending that at present it is too narrowly inductive in focus, overvalues social influence, and has its own problems with reification. The author suggests remedies for these difficulties.
The effect of particle shape on fluid-particle interactions

ABSTRACT Few correlations exist to predict the drag on non-spherical particles, although drag on spheres has been well characterized. A problem in developing predictive equations is the lack of adequate shape descriptors, although sphericity is a good descriptor for smooth nonspherical particles, such as geometric objects. Following a review of the topic, an approach to predicting drag on smooth particles is developed by modifying the Turton-Levenspiel equation for drag on a sphere, using sphericity as the shape descriptor. An alternative approach using polygonal harmonics as shape descriptors, proved less accurate.
Choice of volatile anesthetic for the morbidly obese patient: sevoflurane or desflurane ☆

Abstract Study Objective Morbid obesity is associated with significant comorbidities. Desflurane has a low fat-blood solubility coefficient and may be better suited in this population to achieve a rapid emergence; however, sevoflurane has favorable cardiorespiratory properties that might also prove advantageous in the morbidly obese (MO) patient. This study used careful drug titration to determine if emergence differences between sevoflurane and desflurane could be minimized in MO patients. Design A randomized, prospective blinded study to determine the emergence profiles of desflurane and sevoflurane in MO patients when anesthetic drug titration is used. Setting Operating room of the VA Medical Center, Milwaukee, Wis. Patients Forty American Society of Anesthesiologists II and III, MO patients (body mass index ≥35 kg/m 2 ), who were scheduled for elective surgery predicted to last for more than 2 hours, were studied. Interventions Patients were induced with fentanyl, midazolam, and propofol and maintained with desflurane or sevoflurane, mixed in air and oxygen. Intraoperative bispectral index (BIS) was targeted to 45 to 50 and to 60 in the last 15 minutes of surgery. Measurements Intraoperative anesthetic concentration, BIS, and hemodynamics were recorded. During emergence, time to follow command and extubation were noted, with assessments of cognitive function via the Mini-Mental Status Test and psychomotor performance via the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. A blinded observer recorded key recovery events. Main Results Demographic data (age, 61 [36-83] years; body mass index, 38 [35-47] kg/m 2 ), surgical procedures, length of anesthesia (∼3.5 hours), adjuvant drugs, and intraoperative BIS, heart rate, and mean arterial pressure were not significantly different. Hemodynamics, time to follow commands and to extubation, and results of Digit Symbol Substitution Test and Mini-Mental Status Test did not differ between anesthetic groups during recovery. Conclusions There were no differences in emergence and recovery profiles in MO patients receiving desflurane or sevoflurane when anesthetic concentration was carefully titrated.
Scaling from plot experiments to landscapes: studying grasshoppers to inform forest ecosystem management.

Ecologists studying food web interactions routinely conduct their experiments at scales of 1–10 m2 whereas real-world landscape-level management problems exist on scales of 106 m2 or larger. It is often asserted that the experimental tradition in ecology has little to offer to environmental management because small scale empirical insights are not easily, if at all, translatable to the large scale problems. Small scale experiments are very local in nature and they are conducted in ways that tend to homogenize background environmental variation. Real world management is conducted across vast landscapes. Managers routinely must wrestle with complexity that is introduced by the heterogeneous structure of those landscapes and they often have limited recourse to do careful experimentation. How then is empirical ecological science ever to inform landscape-level management? The solution to this dilemma lies in arriving at good working conceptualizations of ecosystem structure and function that embody principles that are relatively scale independent. In this paper, the evolutionary ecological principle of foraging versus predation risk avoidance trade-offs is proffered as one central organizing conceptualization for plant-herbivore interactions across all systems. The utility of this conceptualization is first illustrated by presenting results of detailed experiments involving spider predators, grasshopper herbivores, and two classes of plant resources that afford grasshoppers differential protection from predators: nutritionally superior but risky grasses and less nutritious but safer herbs. The paper then shows how the foraging versus predation risk avoidance conceptualization in the context of a “landscape of fear” can be applied to manage large herbivore impacts of forest regeneration following forest harvesting. I present results of landscape-scale experiments that mediate predation risk of the herbivores through manipulation of safe habitat in order to enlist herbivores to facilitate boreal forest mixed species regeneration through preferential foraging of certain woody species.
An Automatic Direct Distance Dialing System

An automatic toll ticketing system was cut into service in Las Vegas, Nev., on November 22, 1964, providing some services never before available. The general purpose relay used in this system embodies imaginative new concepts in. device design and application. The ESK relay was supported by several other highly reliable devices produced by Siemens & Halske, including EMD motorswitches and impulse repeaters. A new cordless operator position was developed to reduce both operator work time and possibility for error. Several auxiliary consoles were used for traffic administration, observation, and operator training.
Reduction of decentralized control problems to tractable representations

For decentralized control problems with quadratically invariant information constraints, the optimal controller may be found efficiently. In this paper, we show that there are systems which are not quadratically invariant but reduce to systems that are. We call the requisite property internal quadratic invariance. We present an associated reduction procedure, and illustrate our method with examples.
Effect of low root temperature on net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and carbohydrate concentration in Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.) seedlings.

Summary The effect of low root temperature on net photosynthesis, stomata1 conductance and carbohydrate concentration in potted Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanii Parry ex Engelm.) seedlings was examined under controlled growth-chamber conditions. Root temperature had no effect on net photosynthesis between 10 and 2o”C, however, conductance and photosynthesis declined sharply below 8°C. Net photosynthesis and stomata1 conductance decreased to 50 and 34% of the initial values after 7 days at a root temperature of 0.7”C. Low root temperature also caused a decrease in photosynthetic utilization of internal CO,, carboxylation efficiency and apparent quantum yield, and it was concluded that the decrease in photosynthetic rate was caused primarily by nonstomatal limitations. Root chilling caused a small increase in starch content in needles and stems and induced the hydrolysis of starch to glucose in roots. The increase in glucose concentration may enable continued root growth at low temperatures.
Validation of a smooth movement model for a human reaching task

This paper presents the experiment design, results, and analysis of a human user study that tests and validates the minimum hand jerk (MHJ) model for a human forearm reaching movement task when manipulating a multi-mass object. This work validates and extends prior work that demonstrated the MHJ criteria, a mathematical approach to human movement modeling, more accurately represents movements with multi-mass objects than the alternate optimally smooth transport (OST) model. To validate the prior work, we developed a visual and haptic virtual environment with a five-mass system with friction connected by springs and viscous dampers. The point to point reaching task we implemented required participants to move their hand with the set of masses to a target position, thereby generating movement profiles for analysis. Our experimental design uniquely extends the application of the MHJ criteria to forearm pronation movements and our results show that the MHJ model holds. Our extension to forearm movements and the more general MHJ criteria are economic models of human movements applicable to fields such as computer animation and virtual environments.
Roles of Germination-Specific Lytic Enzymes CwlJ and SleB in Bacillus anthracis

The structural characteristics of a spore enable it to withstand stresses that typically kill a vegetative cell. Spores remain dormant until small molecule signals induce them to germinate into vegetative bacilli. Germination requires degradation of the thick cortical peptidoglycan by germination-specific lytic enzymes (GSLEs). Bacillus anthracis has four putative GSLEs, based upon sequence similarities with enzymes in other species: SleB, CwlJ1, CwlJ2, and SleL. In this study, the roles of SleB, CwlJ1, and CwlJ2 were examined. The expression levels of all three genes peak 3.5 h into sporulation. Genetic analysis revealed that, similar to other known GSLEs, none of these gene products are individually required for growth, sporulation, or triggering of germination. However, later germination events are affected in spores lacking CwlJ1 or SleB. Compared to the wild type, germinating spores without CwlJ1 suffer a delay in optical density loss and cortex peptidoglycan release. The absence of SleB also causes a delay in cortex fragment release. A double mutant lacking both SleB and CwlJ1 is completely blocked in cortex hydrolysis and progresses through outgrowth to produce colonies at a frequency 1,000-fold lower than that of the wild-type strain. A null mutation eliminating CwlJ2 has no effect on germination. High-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectroscopy analysis revealed that SleB is required for lytic transglycosylase activity. CwlJ1 also clearly participates in cortex hydrolysis, but its specific mode of action remains unclear. Understanding the lytic germination activities that naturally diminish spore resistance can lead to methods for prematurely inducing them, thus simplifying the process of treating contaminated sites.
Social Movements and Social Policy: The Bolivian Renta Dignidad

The impact of popular mobilization and social movements against the advance of neoliberal policies has been well documented and theorized. Their concrete impact on the process of social policy reform in the post-neoliberal era is still under debate, however. This article theorizes about the conditions linking disparate new movements to each other and to old, class-based social movements in the defense of a concrete policy reform, Bolivia’s non-contributory pension, the Renta Dignidad. Using a case study research design built on content analysis of newspaper coverage, we identify the necessary, though not sufficient, conditions facilitating alignment of interests and coordinated mobilization—a context of adversity (as confronting a highly mobilized opposition) and the universalistic characteristics of the policy. Under those conditions, social movements allied with Bolivia’s governing Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) were critical in the passage of Renta Dignidad by counterbalancing the pressure from a highly mobilized opposition backed by strong economic elites.
Frame-based modeling techniques for analyzing a strategic planning domain

A frame-based system is described that enhances domain modeling and inferencing in certain strategic planing tasks. The strategic planning process for identifying organizational needs is described, and justification of the frame-based approach is provided. Strategies are presented for defining frames for strategic planning problems. Contributions of frame-based inferencing to the strategic planning process are discussed. >
The Scotia Arc and Antarctic Margin

The Scotia Arc is the name generally applied to the largely submarine physiographic feature that joins southern South America to the Antarctic Peninsula. More correctly called the Scotia Ridge, it consists of a system of submarine ridges and associated troughs, forming a loop that extends for 1500 km east from Tierra del Fuego and the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula into the South Atlantic Ocean (Fig. 1). The arc encloses the Scotia Sea just as the ridge/trench system of the Greater and Lesser Antilles encloses the Caribbean Sea. In fact, the islands of the South Sandwich Ridge, closing off the eastern end of the Scotia Arc, have frequently been referred to as the Southern Antilles. Like the Lesser Antilles they are volcanically active and are situated on the concave western side of an arcuate, seismically active trench. The physiography of the two arc systems is similar, except that the Caribbean Sea is closed to the west by the Central American isthmus and the associated Middle American Trench on the Pacific side (Fig. 2).
An electrically small loop antenna with usefully isotropic radiation and common mode feed

An electrically small circular loop antenna with an isotropic radiation pattern to within ± 1.9 dBi is described. The scalable design operated at the 1575.42 Megahertz Global Positioning System L1 frequency. Means are provided to separately adjust driving resistance and reactance. Common mode currents radiate beneficially as part of loop structure. As the radiation pattern is sufficiently spherical, the design permits wireless systems to operate without aiming or orientation. Applications may include radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, radiolocation receivers, tumbling satellites or personal communications.
Growth and Quality Response of Woody Shrubs to Nitrogen Fertilization Rates during Landscape Establishment in Florida

Despite inconsistent reports of nitrogen (N) fertilization response on growth of landscape-grown woody ornamentals, broad N fertilization recommendations exist in the literature. The objective of this research was to evaluate the growth and quality response of three landscape-grown woody shrub species to N fertilizer. Three ornamental shrub species, ‘Alba’ indian hawthorn (Raphiolepis indica), sweet viburnum (Viburnum odoratissimum), and ‘RADrazz’ (Knock Out) rose (Rosa) were transplanted into field soils in central Florida (U.S. Department of Agriculture hardiness zone 9a). Controlled-release N fertilizer was applied at an annual N rate of 0, 2, 4, 6, and 12 lb/1000 ft for 100 weeks. Plant size index measurements, SPAD readings (a measure of greenness), and visual quality ratings were completed every month through 52 weeks after planting (WAP) and then every 3 months through 100 WAP. Plant tissue total Kjeldahl N (TKN) concentrations and shoot biomass were measured at 100 WAP. Results of regression analysis indicated little to no plant response (size index, biomass, SPAD) to N fertilizer rate. Shrub quality was acceptable for all species through 76 WAP regardless of the N fertilization rate. However, quality of rose and sweet viburnum fertilized with N at the low rates (<2 lb/1000 ft) was less than acceptable (<3 out of 5) after 76 WAP. Results suggest that posttransplant applications of fertilizer may not increase plant growth, but that low-to-moderate levels of N fertilization (2 to 4 lb/1000 ft per year) may help plant maintain quality postestablishment.
Social Work:: The Profession of Choice for EAPs

Social work and other professions are competing for a share of the market found in EAPs. Upon closer examination, it is apparent that social work possesses the skills, knowledge, and values most applicable and compatible with the provision of social services in the workplace.
WSB, A New Laboratory Diet for the Corn Earworm and the Fall Armyworm

A new wheat-based diet was used successfully to rear the corn earworm, heliothis zea (Boddie), and the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), in the laboratory. The cost of ingredients was lower, and a minimum of time was used to prepare the diet compared with other diets used for these species.
High-Order LES for Wing Tip Vortex in the Near Field

The numerical study of wingtip vortex in the near field is presented in this paper. The object is to develop a LES-based code to simulate the wingtip vortex, which will help understanding near field wakes and wake control. The filtered structure function sub-grid model was applied on the LES simulation. The computational approach involves a fully implicit time-marching solver for the Navier-Stokes equation in the generalized curvilinear coordinates with a sixth order compact scheme and an eighth order filter. A one-block highquality mesh is generated in the complex computation domain. The coordinate transformation metrics are calculated with the high-order compact scheme that is consistent with the flow solver. The parallel computation is accomplished by using domain decomposition and message passing interface (MPI). The code is validated for simulation of flow transition on a flat plate. The code is also used for simulation of 2-D airfoil vortex shedding. Then the flow field around NACA0012 airfoil is simulated with 25 million grid points. The preliminary results were obtained. Nomenclature = density uk = velocity component in the k th direction p = pressure T = temperature R = ideal gas constant Cp = specific heats at constant pressure Cv = specific heats at constant volume in = the displacement thickness of inflow = reference value for density U = reference value for velocity T = reference value for temperature = the ratio of specific heats Prt = the turbulent Prandtl number t = the turbulent kinetic viscousity Ck = the Kolmogorov constant
Modeling of Photochemical Reactions in a Focused Laser Beam, II

A method is described for obtaining the rate constant of the photodegradation process of fluorophores illuminated by a focused laser beam. The explicit kinetic equations, describing the population dynamics of excited singlet and triplet states, are averaged over the illuminated volume to describe the resulting fluorescence signal. The illumination is modulated at frequencies from 1 Hz to 100 Hz. Synchronous detection of the resulting fluorescence yields in-phase and quadrature components. The measurement of the ratio of quadrature to in-phase components at several power levels yields information on the photodegradation rate. Specifically it is shown that the data can be interpreted in a manner which yields the value of the photodegradation rate independently of other parameters entering the model. Experiments are performed with erythrosine B which has a large intersystem crossing rate to the triplet state. Measurements in solutions with different viscosities show that the photodegradation rate depends on the viscosity. This is interpreted as evidence for an intermolecular interaction mechanism. We explore the uncertainty of the estimated photodegradation constant taking into account the uncertainties of the measurements used in the synchronous detection technique.
Intellectual humility and prosocial values: Direct and mediated effects

AbstractResearch has established links between humility and prosocial outcomes. This study examined, with self-report data, whether humility with regard to one’s knowledge would be predictive of prosocial values. Consistent with hypotheses, intellectual humility was associated with higher levels of empathy, gratitude, altruism, benevolence, and universalism, and lower levels of power seeking. Analyses supported empathy and gratitude as mediators between intellectual humility and prosocial values. These findings leave open the possibility that intellectual humility may be a precursor to links previously established between empathy and gratitude and prosocial outcomes. Characteristics of intellectual humility such as recognizing one’s cognitive limits, having a non-defensive stance toward one’s beliefs, and respecting others’ viewpoints may put one in a unique position to experience empathy and gratitude, and by extension, a host of prosocial values. Future research would be required to examine whether inte...
POSTOPERATIVE PAIN MANAGEMENT FOR PEDIATRIC UROLOGIC SURGERY

The issues relating to postoperative pain management for pediatric urologic surgery have been discussed. Child development and the behavioral responses to pain have been reviewed, with emphasis on their relation to pain assessment in the pediatric patient. The benefits and limitations of various modalities for the treatment of postoperative pain have been reviewed, and their appropriate use for different urologic surgical procedures has been presented.
Abstract 1664: Alpha-tocopheryloxyacetic acid (aTEA) induced immune activation synergizes with radiation therapy to treat primary and metastatic murine mammary carcinoma

Immunotherapy has now emerged as a promising treatment for metastatic cancer. However, immunotherapy for advanced stage breast carcinoma remains an unmet need. Here we demonstrate that the novel immunomodulator alpha-tocopheryloxyacetic acid (aTEA) synergizes with radiation therapy (RT) in a metastatic murine mammary carcinoma model to improve tumor control more than each individual therapy, and we propose a mechanism based on the stimulation of type I interferons by aTEA. For in-vivo studies, C57BL/6 mice bearing 4T1 murine mammary carcinoma lesions were treated with dietary aTEA, 20 Gy x 2 fractions ionizing radiotherapy, or the combination of aTEA/RT. Immune activation in animals treated with dietary aTEA was determined by analyzing the percentage of proliferating CD4 and CD8 T cells using a Ki-67 assay. Pulmonary metastatic burden was determined using a clonogenic metastasis assay. For in-vitro studies, murine mammary carcinoma cell lines were treated with aTEA or LPS and whole cell lysates were analyzed by Western blot. Expression of interferon regulation factor 3 (IRF3) pathway proteins, including phospho-TANK binding protein kinase 1 (TBK1) and stimulator of interferon genes (STING) were determined. Our results indicate that treatment with the combination of aTEA and RT significantly improves tumor control compared to either treatment alone. Combination therapy resulted in complete and durable tumor regression in a subset of animals treated, an effect not observed with aTEA or RT alone. Dietary administration of aTEA stimulates proliferation of both CD4 and CD8 T cells and significantly reduces metastatic burden in 4T1 tumor bearing mice. This immune stimulatory effect of aTEA appears to be mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and release of type I interferons through a STING mediated pathway. These preliminary results suggest that the combination of aTEA and ionizing radiation may be a viable therapy for the treatment of metastatic breast carcinoma. This therapeutic combination may provide more durable response to radiotherapy while simultaneously reducing further metastatic spread. Citation Format: Joshua M. Walker, Diego M. Barragan, Melissa J. Kasiewicz, Charles R. Thomas, William L. Redmond. Alpha-tocopheryloxyacetic acid (aTEA) induced immune activation synergizes with radiation therapy to treat primary and metastatic murine mammary carcinoma. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1664.
Estimating the reliability of glycemic index values and potential sources of methodological and biological variability

Background The utility of glycemic index (GI) values for chronic disease risk management remains controversial. Although absolute GI value determinations for individual foods have been shown to vary significantly in individuals with diabetes, there is a dearth of data on the reliability of GI value determinations and potential sources of variability among healthy adults. Objective We examined the intra- and inter-individual variability in glycemic response to a single food challenge and methodologic and biological factors that potentially mediate this response. Design The GI value for white bread was determined by using standardized methodology in 63 volunteers free from chronic disease and recruited to differ by sex, age (18-85 y), and body mass index [BMI (in kg/m2): 20-35]. Volunteers randomly underwent 3 sets of food challenges involving glucose (reference) and white bread (test food), both providing 50 g available carbohydrates. Serum glucose and insulin were monitored for 5 h postingestion, and GI values were calculated by using different area under the curve (AUC) methods. Biochemical variables were measured by using standard assays and body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Results The mean ± SD GI value for white bread was 62 ± 15 when calculated by using the recommended method. Mean intra- and interindividual CVs were 20% and 25%, respectively. Increasing sample size, replication of reference and test foods, and length of blood sampling, as well as AUC calculation method, did not improve the CVs. Among the biological factors assessed, insulin index and glycated hemoglobin values explained 15% and 16% of the variability in mean GI value for white bread, respectively. Conclusions These data indicate that there is substantial variability in individual responses to GI value determinations, demonstrating that it is unlikely to be a good approach to guiding food choices. Additionally, even in healthy individuals, glycemic status significantly contributes to the variability in GI value estimates. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01023646.
Sexual Assault Disclosure and Sexual Functioning: The Role of Trauma Symptomatology

Abstract Introduction Previous research has demonstrated that a history of adult sexual assault (ASA) is associated with negative outcomes, including trauma symptomatology and fear of sexual intimacy. Disclosing sexual assault might be protective against such negative outcomes. Aim To examine the indirect effect of trauma symptomatology on the association between disclosing ASA and current sexual functioning. Methods Participants included 652 women 21 to 30 years old with a history of ASA recruited from the community. Participants completed self-report measurements on a computer. Main Outcome Measures Separate models were performed, with sexual functioning divided into sexual desire, orgasm, and pain during sex. Results ASA disclosure was indirectly associated with sexual orgasm and pain during sex by trauma symptomatology. However, there was no indirect effect of trauma symptomatology on the relation between ASA disclosure and sexual desire. Conclusion Disclosing experiences of ASA could serve a protective function by lessening trauma symptomatology, thereby mitigating impacts on aspects of sexual functioning, such as orgasm and pain.
Endometrial cancer associated biomarkers in bariatric surgery candidates: exploration of racial differences.

Abstract Background Obesity is the main risk factor for endometrial cancer (EC), the most common gynecologic malignancy in the United States. A number of potential risk biomarkers have been associated with EC development, including altered proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and adipokines. Objectives The overarching aim of this research is to investigate racial differences in the expression of EC-associated biomarkers among bariatric surgery candidates. Setting Tertiary academic medical center Methods Blood samples were collected from 175 women aged 18 to 72 (mean age: 42.93; standard deviation 11.66), before bariatric surgery. Levels of biomarkers associated with obesity and EC risk were measured using xMAP immunoassays. Wilcoxon rank sum and Fisher’s exact tests were utilized to compare biomarker and demographic variables between African American and European American women. Linear regression models, adjusted for menopause status and diabetes, were utilized to identify factors associated with biomarker levels. Results When the biomarker levels were compared by race, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1 and adiponectin were significantly lower in African American women (P Conclusion As one of the first efforts to explore racial differences in EC-associated biomarkers in a cohort of women with severe obesity, this study found several significant differences that should be further explored in large-scale studies.
Improving Social Support for Older Adults Through Technology: Findings From the PRISM Randomized Controlled Trial.

Objectives Information and communication technology holds promise in terms of providing support and reducing isolation among older adults. We evaluated the impact of a specially designed computer system for older adults, the Personal Reminder Information and Social Management (PRISM) system. Design, setting, and participants The trial was a multisite randomized field trial conducted at 3 sites. PRISM was compared to a Binder condition wherein participants received a notebook that contained paper content similar to that contained in PRISM. The sample included 300 older adults at risk for social isolation who lived independently in the community (Mage = 76.15 years). Primary outcome measures included indices of social isolation, social support, loneliness, and well-being. Secondary outcome measures included indices of computer proficiency and attitudes toward technology. Data were collected at baseline and at 6 and 12 months post-randomization. Results The PRISM group reported significantly less loneliness and increased perceived social support and well-being at 6 months. There was a trend indicating a decline in social isolation. Group differences were not maintained at 12 months, but those in the PRISM condition still showed improvements from baseline. There was also an increase in computer self-efficacy, proficiency, and comfort with computers for PRISM participants at 6 and 12 months. Discussion The findings suggest that access to technology applications such as PRISM may enhance social connectivity and reduce loneliness among older adults and has the potential to change attitudes toward technology and increase technology self-efficacy.
Resist, persist, desist: building solidarity from Grandma Ella through baby Angela to the Women’s March

AbstractThis article brings together geographical and anthropological perspectives to explore how the Women’s March, as an intersectional resistance movement, has opened up possibilities for solidarity as much as it has created fraught spaces of inclusion. Through a black feminist reading of resistance, self-care, and solidarity, we explore this moment of political emergence and connect it to a broader arc of resistance, passed and felt through black women’s bodies and geographies. We employ a feminist narrative empiricism to blend ethnographic retelling with fiction and use the composite character of Angela to highlight the textures and tensions of mobilizing resistance. This narrative, set against the backdrop of the Women’s March, follows Angela, a middle-aged black woman, as she moves through modes of resistance, persistence, and desistance, and as she connects movements spurred by the recent U.S. presidential election to those entangled with past and everyday spaces of resistance traversed by black w...
Advances in surgical approaches in glioblastoma (GBM).

Glioblastomas (GBM) remain the most common primary intracerebral neoplasm, comprising 15% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors and 46% of all malignant CNS and brain tumors (1).
The impact of resilience and subsequent stressful life events on MDD and GAD

Background There remains a dearth of research examining the "buffering" effect of resilience, wherein resilience at one point in time would be expected to protect an individual against development of psychopathology following future adverse life events. Methods Using longitudinal data from an epidemiological twin sample (N = 7463), this study tested whether resilience would act as a buffer for stressful life events (SLEs) against risk for major depressive disorder (MDD) and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Resilience, demographics, and psychopathology were measured at Time 1 and recent SLEs and current MDD and GAD were measured at Time 2. Results Final models, controlling for demographic covariates and Time 1 diagnosis, examined the impact of Time 1 resilience, recent SLEs, their interaction, and a three-way interaction adding sex on MDD and GAD. Conclusions The pattern of findings was the same for MDD and GAD, wherein main effects and two-way interactions of resilience and SLEs were significant, such that greater resilience was protective even in the context of high numbers of past-year SLEs. The three-way interaction was not significant, suggesting that the relationship between SLEs and resilience on psychopathology was the same for both men and women. Findings support the conceptualization of resilience as a buffer against the impact of future life stressors on common internalizing psychopathology. Longitudinal designs and trajectory-based studies that include recurring measures of SLEs could inform conceptualizations of resilience in the context of ongoing adversity and aid in developing interventions aimed at fostering healthy adaptation in the face of stressors.
Pulmonary Atresia with Intact Ventricular Septum: Right Ventricular and Coronary Artery Anatomy

In this series of 71 postmortem cases of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PAt $${\bar c}$$ IVS), the PAt was valvar only in 85%, and valvar plus infundibular in 15%. The size of the tricuspid valve (TV) corresponded closely to that of the right ventricular (RV) sinus. The TV/mitral valve (MV) diameter ratio and RV/LV inlet length ratio expressed the degree of RV cavity smallness quantitatively. When the TV/MV diameter ratio was equal to or less than the median range (≤0.51–0.60), sinusoids were almost always present (90%). However, when this ratio was above the median range, sinusoids were infrequent (10%). More than half of the cases of PAt $${\bar c}$$ IVS and sinusoids had no significant coronary artery disease (58%); however, the other 42% did have various types of coronary abnormality. Coronary anomalies were present in 16% of cases of PAt $${\bar c}$$ IVS without sinusoids.
In Search of the "Telling Detail": Ian McEwan, Briony Tallis, and the Demands of Authorship

Much scholarly interest surrounding Ian McEwan's Atonement has focused on the abrupt shift that occurs in the novel's final section, "London, 1999." This essay argues that this section makes it clear that the main story of the novel is not Briony, Robbie, and Cecilia's entanglement due to Lola's teenaged rape but Briony's development as a writer, her kunstlerroman . As such, it is crucial to the novel, not simply a metafictional ploy, because it illuminates the lengths she has gone to in writing her final book and fulfilling her youthful promise. McEwan's response to a real-life plagiarism accusation reinforces his depiction of Briony as an author who searches for "the telling detail," as opposed to one who sticks to verifiable, historical accuracy.
Evaluation of an Antibiotic Stewardship Program in a University Health Center

Abstract This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of an antibiotic stewardship program at a university health center for changing provider intentions about antibiotic use and decreasing antibiotic prescriptions for acute rhinosinusitis and bronchitis. The program included strategies for patient education and negotiation, with an instrument to assess intentions of providers toward antibiotic use and perceptions of patient satisfaction with care before and after the program. Providers wrote fewer prescriptions for acute sinusitis 2 months after the program and expressed intention to be more judicious with future prescribing. This program was feasible, was not costly to implement, and appeared to have an impact on provider practice.
Inhibition of Cyclic GMP-AMP Synthase Using a Novel Antimalarial Drug Derivative in Trex1-Deficient Mice.

OBJECTIVE Type I interferon (IFN) is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as well as rare monogenic interferonopathies such as Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome (AGS), a disease attributed to mutations in the DNA exonuclease TREX1. The DNA-activated type I IFN pathway cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS) is linked to subsets of AGS and lupus. This study was undertaken to identify inhibitors of the DNA-cGAS interaction, and to test the lead candidate drug, X6, in a mouse model of AGS. METHODS Trex1-/- mice were treated orally from birth with either X6 or hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for 8 weeks. Expression of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs) was quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Multiple reaction monitoring by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry was used to quantify the production of cGAMP and X6 drug concentrations in the serum and heart tissue of Trex1-/- mice. RESULTS On the basis of the efficacy-to-toxicity ratio established in vitro, drug X6 was selected as the lead candidate for treatment of Trex1-/- mice. X6 was significantly more effective than HCQ in attenuating ISG expression in mouse spleens (P < 0.01 for Isg15 and Isg20) and hearts (P < 0.05 for Isg15, Mx1, and Ifnb, and P < 0.01 for Cxcl10), and in reducing the production of cGAMP in mouse heart tissue (P < 0.05), thus demonstrating target engagement by the X6 compound. Of note, X6 was also more effective than HCQ in reducing ISG expression in vitro (P < 0.05 for IFI27 and MX1, and P < 0.01 for IFI44L and PKR) in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with SLE. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that X6 is superior to HCQ for the treatment of an experimental autoimmune myocarditis mediated in vivo by the cGAS/stimulator of IFN genes (cGAS/STING) pathway. The findings suggest that drug X6 could be developed as a novel treatment for AGS and/or lupus to inhibit activation of the cGAS/STING pathway.
Recombination and postreplication repair.

The available data concerning postreplication repair are summarized. In Escherichia coli, recombination is implicated in this repair because the recA + gene is necessary and because strand exchanges occur that extend over long regions. Other experiments involving phage-induced resistance also point to an interrelation between recombination and repair. In this phenomenon, gene products of λ bacteriophage are introduced into bacteria, resulting in an increased resistance of the cells when they are subsequently exposed to X rays.
Development of low-scatter optical edges for starshades

Starshades, combined with future space telescopes, provide the ability to detect Earth-like exoplanets in the habitable zone by producing high contrast ratios at small inner working angles. The primary function of a starshade is to suppress light from a target star such that its orbiting planets are revealed. In order to do so, the optical edges of the starshade must maintain their precise in-plane profile to produce the necessary apodization function. However, an equally important consideration is the interaction of these edges with light emanating from our own Sun as scattered and/or diffracted sunlight can significantly degrade the achievable contrast. This paper describes the technical efforts performed to obtain precision, low-scatter optical edges for future starshades. Trades between edge radius (i.e. sharpness) and surface reflectivity have been made and small-scale coupons have been produced using scalable manufacturing processes. A custom scattered light testbed has been developed to quantify the magnitude of scattered light over all sun angles. Models have also been developed to make predictions on the level of reflected and/or diffracted light for various edge architectures. The results of these studies have established a current baseline approach which implements photochemical etching techniques on thin metal foils.
Euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis in bariatric surgery patients with type 2 diabetes taking canagliflozin

A 52-year-old type 2 diabetic man previously on canagliflozin developed severe anion gap metabolic acidosis and markedly elevated beta-hydroxybutyrate on postoperative day (POD) 2 status post laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. An insulin drip and aggressive intravenous fluid repletion were initiated, and electrolytes were monitored and repleted. His anion gap closed, and he was discharged on POD 4. This euglycaemic diabetic ketoacidosis prolonged his hospital stay by 2 days.