cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of acute and 14-day coenzyme Q10 supplementation on exercise performance in both trained and untrained individuals

To determine whether acute (single dose) and/or chronic (14-days) supplementation of CoQ10 will improve anaerobic and/or aerobic exercise performance by increasing plasma and muscle CoQ10 concentrations within trained and untrained individuals. Twenty-two aerobically trained and nineteen untrained male and female subjects (26.1 ± 7.6 yrs, 172 ± 8.7 cm, 73.5 ± 17 kg, and 21.2 ± 7.0%) were randomized to ingest in a double-blind manner either 100 mg of a dextrose placebo (CON) or a fast-melt CoQ10 supplement (CoQ10) twice a day for 14-days. On the first day of supplementation, subjects donated fasting blood samples and a muscle biopsy. Subjects were then given 200 mg of the placebo or the CoQ10 supplement. Sixty minutes following supplement ingestion, subjects completed an isokinetic knee extension endurance test, a 30-second wingate anaerobic capacity test, and a maximal cardiopulmonary graded exercise test interspersed with 30-minutes of recovery. Additional blood samples were taken immediately following each exercise test and a second muscle biopsy sample was taken following the final exercise test. Subjects consumed twice daily (morning and night), 100 mg of either supplement for a period of 14-days, and then returned to the lab to complete the same battery of tests. Data was analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA with an alpha of 0.05. Plasma CoQ10 levels were significantly increased following 2 weeks of CoQ10 supplementation (p < 0.001); while a trend for higher muscle CoQ10 levels was observed after acute CoQ10 ingestion (p = 0.098). A trend for lower serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) was observed following acute supplementation with CoQ10 (p = 0.06), whereas serum malondialdehyde (MDA) tended to be significantly higher (p < 0.05). Following acute ingestion of CoQ10, plasma CoQ10 levels were significantly correlated to muscle CoQ10 levels; maximal oxygen consumption; and treadmill time to exhaustion. A trend for increased time to exhaustion was observed following 2 weeks of CoQ10 supplementation (p = 0.06). Acute supplementation with CoQ10 resulted in higher muscle CoQ10 concentration, lower serum SOD oxidative stress, and higher MDA levels during and following exercise. Chronic CoQ10 supplementation increased plasma CoQ10 concentrations and tended to increase time to exhaustion. Results indicate that acute and chronic supplementation of CoQ10 may affect acute and/or chronic responses to various types of exercise.
JCPDS-ICDD Research Associateship (Cooperative Program with NBS/NIST)

The Research Associateship program of the Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction-International Centre for Diffraction Data (JCPDS-ICDD, now known as the ICDD) at NBS/NIST was a long standing (over 35 years) successful industry-government cooperation. The main mission of the Associateship was to publish high quality x-ray reference patterns to be included in the Powder Diffraction File (PDF). The PDF is a continuing compilation of patterns gathered from many sources, compiled and published by the ICDD. As a result of this collaboration, more than 1500 high quality powder diffraction patterns, which have had a significant impact on the scientific community, were reported. In addition, various research collaborations with NBS/NIST also led to the development of several standard reference materials (SRMs) for instrument calibration and quantitative analyses, and computer software for data collection, calibration, reduction, for the editorial process of powder pattern publication, analysis of powder data, and for quantitative analyses. This article summarizes information concerning the JCPDS-ICDD organization, the Powder Diffraction File (PDF), history and accomplishments of the JCPDS-ICDD Research Associateship.
Linking Issue Labels And Managerial Actions: A Study Of Participation In Crisis Vs. Opportunity Issues

The way in which top level executives frame strategic issues is likely to affect how these e3xecutives go about resolving issues and deciding on a course of action. The particular label given to a strategic issue may alter how much information is processed in resolving the issue. Specifically, differences in the way strategic issues are labeled are believed to affect the amount of top level executive participation in deciding the issues Dutton and Jackson, 1987), although there has been no empirical support of this claim. Data from high ranking executives in 21 defense contracting companies indicate that the participation of top level executives is significantly reduced when responding to issues labeled as crises than when responding to issues labeled as o9pportunities. Further, the absolute extent of these differences is modified by the information processing and participation climate in organizations. The results suggest that top level executives should be aware of the labels given to strategic issues, recognize the implications of such labels, and make special efforts to overcome the tendency to reduce information processing capacity when confronting crisis strategic issues.
Understanding the origins of human cancer

All cancers originate from a single cell that starts to behave abnormally, to divide uncontrollably, and, eventually, to invade adjacent tissues (1). The aberrant behavior of this single cell is due to somatic mutations—changes in the genomic DNA produced by the activity of different mutational processes (1). These various mutational processes include exposure to exogenous or endogenous mutagens, abnormal DNA editing, the incomplete fidelity of DNA polymerases, and failure of DNA repair mechanisms (2). Early studies that sequenced TP53, the most commonly mutated gene in human cancer, provided evidence that mutational processes leave distinct imprints of somatic mutations on the genome of a cancer cell (3). For example, C:G>A:T transversions predominate in smoking-associated lung cancer, whereas C:G>T:A transitions occurring mainly at dipyrimidines and CC:GG>TT:AA double-nucleotide substitutions are common in ultraviolet light–associated skin cancers. Moreover, these patterns of mutations matched the ones induced experimentally by tobacco mutagens and ultraviolet light, respectively, the major, known, exogenous carcinogenic influences in these cancer types, and demonstrated that examining patterns of mutations in cancer genomes can yield information about the mutational processes that cause human cancer (4).
Introducing PXI instrumentation into an existing VXI based tester

With the large number of PXI form factor instruments that are now available, many users are looking to introduce these instruments into existing VXI based systems. Adding PXI instruments to existing systems is much more cost effective versus building a new tester since various assets, such as user power supplies and the system controller can be shared by both instrument types. But introducing this new instrumentation presents the System Engineer with many design issues that need to be considered. One major consideration is whether to use the existing VXI user interface or to expand to a second interface.
Masking and labeling problems in social network data management

Online social networks (OSN) contain data about persons or objects including private information and user generated labels. We study two problems on managing OSN data. Data is often shared with trusted parties. Still, data has to be adapted so that it does not trivially reveal identities of the users and their interactions. We formulate this problem of “masking” data by deliberately introducing uncertainty and trading it off with the utility of data for useful analyses. We present methods for masking static and dynamic OSN data and show high accuracy in experiments for answering a variety of queries over the masked data. User-generated labels have many uncertainties due to missing values, synonyms, and so on. The problem of Label Set Enhancing captures the task of reducing these uncertainties, by inferring missing values, replacing labels for larger concept labels and so on. We present first known, efficient, iterative solutions to this problem where the labels form a hierarchy. Our evaluations show significant benefits in using a hierarchy for reducing uncertainty in label sets in OSN data.
Organizational Involvement and Representative Bureaucracy: Can We Have It Both Ways?

This article addresses an important issue of democratic theory and administration: the potential conflict between bureaucrats' allegiance to their agencies and to specific publics' interests. Representative bureaucracy, which emphasizes substantive interest representation in the administrative arena, embodies this potential for conflict. Empirical survey results which probe integration of substantive representation and employee allegiance among federal employees in four major agencies are presented. Evidence documents a different level of organizational involvement in an agency with a substantive representation mandate compared to employee involvement in agencies without a mandate for representation. While the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' mandate affords considerable potential for integrating substantive representation and employee allegiance, its employees do not rank highly in organizational involvement. Even more surprising, CCR minority employees are lowest in involvement. These findings imply an important hypothesis: effectiveness in achieving an agency mandate is crucial to successful integration of organizational involvement and substantive representation.
Gender disparities in stress test utilization in chest pain unit patients based upon the ordering physician's gender.

Objective:Physicians’ gender may impact test utilization in the diagnosis of acute cardiovascular disease. We sought to determine if physician gender affected stress test utilization by patient gender in a low-risk chest pain observation unit.Methods:This was a retrospective consecutive cohort study
Grit and Hardiness as Predictors of Performance Among West Point Cadets

The U.S. Military Academy has historically used an academically weighted composite of aptitude, leadership, and physical ability indices for selection of candidates and to predict their performance...
Mapping Bug Reports to Relevant Files: A Ranking Model, a Fine-Grained Benchmark, and Feature Evaluation

When a new bug report is received, developers usually need to reproduce the bug and perform code reviews to find the cause, a process that can be tedious and time consuming. A tool for ranking all the source files with respect to how likely they are to contain the cause of the bug would enable developers to narrow down their search and improve productivity. This paper introduces an adaptive ranking approach that leverages project knowledge through functional decomposition of source code, API descriptions of library components, the bug-fixing history, the code change history, and the file dependency graph. Given a bug report, the ranking score of each source file is computed as a weighted combination of an array of features, where the weights are trained automatically on previously solved bug reports using a learning-to-rank technique. We evaluate the ranking system on six large scale open source Java projects, using the before-fix version of the project for every bug report. The experimental results show that the learning-to-rank approach outperforms three recent state-of-the-art methods. In particular, our method makes correct recommendations within the top 10 ranked source files for over 70 percent of the bug reports in the Eclipse Platform and Tomcat projects.
Dynamic Flow Response of Rigid Polymer Foam Subjected to Direct Impact

In this work, the dynamic response of closed-cell PMDI foam specimens with different initial densities subjected to direct impact loading was investigated using a shock-tube apparatus and digital image correlation. Cylindrical foam specimens with different densities were affixed on a rigid frame on one side while the impact load was applied to the other side. The full-field deformation of the polymeric foam specimen during the loading process was captured using stereovision high speed camera system. The load was measured using quartz impact force sensors located between the rigid frame and the specimen, while the full-field displacement and strain distributions were obtained using 3D DIC. A simple one-dimensional model was also proposed to calculate the change of specimen density at any given time during the deformation. The inertia stresses developed during high strain rate deformation were determined using the instantaneous density and the full-field acceleration distribution obtained from the displacement field measured by DIC. By using the load cell data, the calculated inertia stresses and the strain components obtained from DIC, the full field stress–strain distribution over the entire region of interest was extracted. The average stress–strain response of the specimens was also presented as a function of foam density.
A Review of the Common Factors Model and Its Application in Pain Management

Pain management providers in the field tend to be eclectic and flexible in their choice of modalities and attempt different treatments until they find something that suits the patient a phenomenon known as the ldquo Goldilocks effect rdquo which derives from the children rsquo s story The Story of the Three Bears Research studies in pain management have concluded that the diverse treatment interventions currently available all appear to be equivocally effective In the past the practice of psychotherapy confronted a similar issue research studies concluded that all psychotherapies were effective which led to a verdict later termed the ldquo Dodo bird effect rdquo referencing a scene from Alice rsquo s Adventures in Wonderland This conclusion led to the distinction of two possible mechanisms of psychotherapeutic change specific versus non specific effects also known as ldquo common factors rdquo The purpose of the current review is to outline the applicability of the common factors model to pain management and provide supportive evidence from existing research
Association of Volunteer Communication Mobilizers’ Polio-Related Knowledge and Job-Related Characteristics With Health Message Delivery Performance in Kano District of Nigeria

Volunteer communication mobilizers (VCMs) were deployed in Nigeria to increase community awareness for polio vaccination. To understand whether VCMs’ knowledge and job-related characteristics were associated with performance, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the Nassarawa and Ungogo Local Governance Areas (LGAs). We asked VCMs about the consequences of polio, preventive strategies, and health communication messages to assess knowledge. We considered VCMs’ performance satisfactory if they delivered more messages during their last visit, and knew the number of <5 children and neonates in their settlement. We used t-tests to compare continuous and chi-square tests for categorical variables, and ran linear and ordinal logistic regression to understand if knowledge and job-related characteristics were associated with performance. Of the VCMs, 69% (118/170) were enrolled from Ungogo. We found that 63% of VCMs in Nassarawa had appropriate levels of knowledge about health education messages, compared to 2...
Effect of Light Intensity During Soybean Growth on the Activation State of Rubp Carboxylase From Leaves in the Light and Dark

The activity of RuBP carboxylase (RuBPC’ase) in leaves is a major factor controlling photosynthetic rates. It is well established that the activation state of this enzyme in vivo is a function of light intensity [1,2]. In Nicotiana tabacum and Phaseolus vulgar i s leaves, regulation of carboxylat ion rates may be complicated by the presence of a phosphorylated inhibitor, which binds to RuBPC’ase during dark periods and reduces the maximal activity attainable in vitro after full activation by Mg ++ and CO2 [3,4]. Effects indicative of the interaction of a similar inhibitor with RuBPC’ase had previously been observed in a number of other species including soybean [5,6,7]. The mode of synthesis and degradation of the inhibitor is not known, and neither is its physiological relevance to the regulation of CO2 fixation. We report here on the influence of light/dark transitions on ‘initial’ and ‘total’ activities [2] of RuBPC’ase in extracts of Soybean leaves from plants growing at high and low irradiance levels. The implications of the results are discussed in terms of metabolism of the inhibitor.
Anti-Discrimination and Pro-Equality Measures

The three main objectives of the Decade of Women, equality, development, and peace, were followed by employment, education, and health, added later as the Decade progressed and was evaluated. The objectives are broad, interrelated, and mutually reinforcing, so that the achievement of one contributes to the achievement of another. Equality, the first and most basic objective, is interpreted as meaning not only legal equality (the elimination of de jure discrimination), but also equality of rights, responsibilities and opportunities for the participation of women in development, both as active agents and as beneficiaries.
Nonpharmacological Interventions for Sundowning Behaviors: A MOHO Perspective

Date Presented 4/9/2016This study highlights the various nonpharmacological interventions and prevention strategies used for sundowning behaviors. Research regarding this topic will advance the field by expanding the repertoire of strategies and will further demonstrate how MOHO can be used in an ef
Spread of Larinus minutus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a biological control agent of knapweeds, following introduction to northwestern Arkansas

Abstract Spotted knapweed, Centaurea stoebe L. (Asteraceae), is an invasive perennial forb that has become economically and ecologically damaging in North America. The weevil Larinus minutus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a biological control agent of invasive knapweeds, was introduced to 37 sites in northwest Arkansas since 2008 as part of a biological control program for spotted knapweed. In 2011 and 2012, 25 of these release sites were surveyed to monitor how L. minutus infestation rates changed in relation to distance and time from release. The initial L. minutus introductions at these sites occurred from 2008 to 2011. Transects were used from the point of initial weevil introduction to establish sampling quadrats in which capitula were collected to document weevil presence and infestation rates. The mean maximum distance of weevil colonization and mean local abundance (within the first 50 m from the release point) were calculated in relation to time (yr) since release. Five sites had >10 quad...
Work-related injury factors and safety climate perception in truck drivers

Introduction The trucking industry has a high burden of work-related injuries. This study examined factors, such as safety climate perceptions, that may impact injury risk. Method A random sample of 9800 commercial driver's license holders (CDL) were sent surveys, only 4360 were eligible truck drivers. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were developed to describe the population and identify variables associated with work-related injury. Results 2189 drivers completed the pertinent interview questions. Driving less-than-truckload, daytime sleepiness, pressure to work faster, and having a poor composite score for safety perceptions were all associated with increased likelihood of work-related injury. Positive safety perception score was protective for odds of work-related injury, and increased claim filing when injured. Conclusions Positive psychological safety climate is associated with decreased likelihood of work-related injury and increased likelihood that a driver injured on the job files a workers’ compensation claim.
The effect of adsorbed liquid and material density on saltation threshold: Insight from laboratory and wind tunnel experiments

Abstract Saltation threshold, the minimum wind speed for sediment transport, is a fundamental parameter in aeolian processes. Measuring this threshold using boundary layer wind tunnels, in which particles are mobilized by flowing air, for a subset of different planetary conditions can inform our understanding of physical processes of sediment transport. The presence of liquid, such as water on Earth or methane on Titan, may affect the threshold values to a great extent. Sediment density is also crucial for determining threshold values. Here we provide quantitative data on density and water content of common wind tunnel materials (including chromite, basalt, quartz sand, beach sand, glass beads, gas chromatograph packing materials, walnut shells, iced tea powder, activated charcoal, instant coffee, and glass bubbles) that have been used to study conditions on Earth, Titan, Mars, and Venus. The measured density values for low density materials are higher compared to literature values (e.g., ∼30% for walnut shells), whereas for the high density materials, there is no such discrepancy. We also find that low density materials have much higher water content and longer atmospheric equilibration timescales compared to high density sediments. We used thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to quantify surface and internal water and found that over 80% of the total water content is surface water for low density materials. In the Titan Wind Tunnel (TWT), where Reynolds number conditions similar to those on Titan can be achieved, we performed threshold experiments with the standard walnut shells (125–150 µm, 7.2% water by mass) and dried walnut shells, in which the water content was reduced to 1.7%. The threshold results for the two scenarios are almost the same, which indicates that humidity had a negligible effect on threshold for walnut shells in this experimental regime. When the water content is lower than 11.0%, the interparticle forces are dominated by adsorption forces, whereas at higher values the interparticle forces are dominated by much larger capillary forces. For materials with low equilibrium water content, like quartz sand, capillary forces dominate. When the interparticle forces are dominated by adsorption forces, the threshold does not increase with increasing relative humidity (RH) or water content. Only when the interparticle forces are dominated by capillary forces does the threshold start to increase with increasing RH/water content. Since tholins have a low methane content (0.3% at saturation, [Curtis, D. B., Hatch, C. D., Hasenkopf, C. A., et al., 2008. Laboratory studies of methane and ethane adsorption and nucleation onto organic particles: Application to Titan’s clouds. Icarus, 195, 792. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2008.02.003 ]), we believe tholins would behave similarly to quartz sand when subjected to methane moisture.
A Brief History of Occupational Licensing

The arc of history has tended toward the licensing of an ever-larger number of professions. Today, a number of them—such as barbers, bartenders, and florists—are subject to licensing requirements even though the regulated activities do not bear even a remote relation to protection of the life, health, and safety of community members. Licensing individuals before allowing them to claim that they are “able to heal, cure or relieve those suffering from any injury, deformity or disease” makes sense, but today’s licensing regimes prohibit individuals, sometimes on pain of criminal liability, from engaging in conduct that poses no risk of harm to any person or to the community. Such a regime causes injury rather than protecting against it.
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: Optimizing Its Impact on Health

The article discusses how the American government's low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) may be used to improve population (public) health and increase access to health-promoting neighborhoods in the U.S. as of 2017, and it mentions affordable rents and households in the country. Support for LIHTC developments by health insurance companies and institutions is examined, along with a housing- and tax-related Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP).
Attitudes of paediatric and obstetric specialists towards prenatal surgery for lethal and non-lethal conditions.

Background While prenatal surgery historically was performed exclusively for lethal conditions, today intrauterine surgery is also performed to decrease postnatal disabilities for non-lethal conditions. We sought to describe physicians’ attitudes about prenatal surgery for lethal and non-lethal conditions and to elucidate characteristics associated with these attitudes. Methods Survey of 1200 paediatric surgeons, neonatologists and maternal–fetal medicine specialists (MFMs). Results Of 1176 eligible physicians, 670 (57%) responded (range by specialty, 54%–60%). In the setting of a lethal condition for which prenatal surgery would likely result in the child surviving with a severe disability, most respondents either disagreed (59%) or strongly disagreed (19%) that they would recommend the surgery. Male physicians were twice as likely to recommend surgery for the lethal condition, as were physicians who believe that abortion is morally wrong (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.0 to 3.05). Older physicians were less likely to recommend surgery (OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.36 to 0.88). For non-lethal conditions, most respondents agreed (66% somewhat, 4% strongly) that they would recommend prenatal surgery, even if the surgery increases the risk of prematurity or fetal death. Compared with MFMs, surgeons were less likely to recommend such surgery, as were physicians not affiliated with a fetal centre, and physicians who were religious (ORs range from 0.45 to 0.64). Conclusion Physician’s attitudes about prenatal surgery relate to physicians’ beliefs about disability as well as demographic, cultural and religious characteristics. Given the variety of views, parents are likely to receive different recommendations from their doctors about the preferable treatment choice.
Polyphenol-enriched berry extracts naturally modulate reactive proteins in model foods.

Healthy foods like polyphenol-rich berries and high quality edible proteins are in demand in today's functional food marketplace, but it can be difficult to formulate convenient food products with physiologically-relevant amounts of these ingredients and still maintain product quality. In part, this is because proteins can interact with other food ingredients and precipitate destabilizing events, which can disrupt food structure and diminish shelf life. Proteins in foods can also interact with human receptors to provoke adverse consequences such as allergies. When proteins and polyphenols were pre-aggregated into stable colloidal particles prior to use as ingredients, highly palatable food formulations (with reduced astringency of polyphenols) could be prepared, and the overall structural properties of food formulations were significantly improved. All of the nutritive and phytoactive benefits of the proteins and concentrated polyphenols remained highly bioavailable, but the protein molecules in the particle matrix did not self-aggregate into networks or react with other food ingredients. Both the drainage half-life (a marker of structural stability) and the yield stress (resistance to flow) of model foams made with the protein–polyphenol particles were increased in a dose-dependent manner. Of high significance in this complexation process, the reactive allergenic epitopes of certain proteins were effectively blunted by binding with polyphenols, attenuating the allergenicity of the food proteins. Porcine macrophages produced TNF-α proinflammatory cytokine when provoked with whey protein, but, this response was blocked completely when the cells were stimulated with particles that complexed whey protein with cinnamon-derived polyphenols. Cytokine and chemokine production characteristic of allergic reactions were blocked by the polyphenols, allowing for the potential creation of hypoallergenic protein-berry polyphenol enriched foods.
Current US health policy and the future of person-centered care

Current US health policy is contested and consensual. This is not new to American healthcare, as the last 70 years have seen on the one hand conflict between those who would expand access to health services and those who would restrict it and, on the other, a popular pursuit of biomedical research and the interventions it spawns. During the last year, US health policy has repeated this dynamic, with multiple unsuccessful attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as (near) unanimous passage of the 21 st Century Cures Act. This paper reports on each half of the conflict-consensus dynamic and considers which, if any, aspects of these current US health policies might lead to more (or less) person-centered care. Attention will be drawn especially to access to healthcare under the ACA and the use of “real-world evidence” under the Cures Act. The former allows more Americans to receive more of the care they need. The latter challenges evidence-based medicine’s evidence hierarchy, where randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered superior to other ways of knowing, even for the care of individual persons. The paper describes the current discussion of what sorts of evidence are appropriate to a drug and device regulatory regime. It remarks on the claims to person-centeredness by proponents and opponents of both bills and on potential dilemmas posed when aspects of person-centeredness conflict.
Balloon Fracture of a Surgical Mitral Bioprosthesis During Valve-in-Valve Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement: First-in-Human Report.

A 65-year-old female underwent coronary artery bypass grafting plus mitral valve replacement (MVR) with a 25-mm Epic bioprosthesis (Abbott, Santa Ana, CA). Postoperatively, she was readmitted with congestive heart failure exacerbation. Transthoracic echocardiogram showed mean prosthetic gradient of 18 mm Hg raising concern for early valve deterioration. She was deemed high risk for surgery. Therefore, transseptal transcatheter valve-in-valve MVR with a 23-mm Sapien3 valve (Edwards Lifesciences, Irvine, CA) was performed 15 months post-MVR. Postimplantation …
Motorized Recreation Sounds Influence Nature Scene Evaluations: The Role of Attitude Moderators

Soundscape assessment takes many forms, including letting the consequences of the soundscape be an indicator of soundscape quality or value. As a result, much social science research has been conducted to better quantify problem soundscapes and the subsequent effects on humans exposed to them. Visual evaluations of natural environments are one area where research has consistently shown detrimental effects of noisy or anthropogenic soundscapes (e.g., those containing noise from motorized recreation), but the potential moderating role of individual attitudes toward elements within the soundscape has not been sufficiently explored. This study demonstrates that both pro-motorized recreation and pro-motorized recreation management attitudes can alter the effect of motorized recreation noise on scenic evaluations in opposing directions. Pro-recreation attitudes lessen the effect of the soundscape, while pro-management attitudes heighten the negative effect of anthropogenic sounds on scenic evaluation. The implications for other areas of soundscape research, especially with regard to soundscape quality assessment through experienced outcomes, are discussed, including possible strategies for prioritizing known or relevant moderating variables.
Group Work with Parents of Children with Down's Syndrome:

Knowing other persons undergoing the same stress proves a valuable opportunity to test reality and to reconcile a diagnosis and its stereotypes with the real child
A case of bilateral hip mechanically assisted crevice corrosion after staged total hip arthroplasty.

Abstract Mechanically assisted crevice corrosion (MACC), also known as trunnionosis, and adverse local tissue reaction (ALTR) are entities that can lead to pain and necessitate revision in total hip arthroplasty (THA). We present a case of a 75-year-old female who received a bilateral staged primary THA with metal on cross-linked polyethylene implants and had subsequent bilateral revisions for MACC and ALTR. In both instances, she presented with anterior thigh pain, weakness, and difficulty ambulating, and she was revised to ceramic on cross-linked polyethylene implants. This case may suggest a biologic predisposition or systemic immunogenic reaction to metal debris in some patients with ALTR or represent an implant-specific complication. To our knowledge, this is the first case reported of a patient having bilateral MACC from staged THA performed by 2 different surgeons using the same brand implant.
Novel human endometrial cell line promotes blastocyst development.

Objective To test and contrast the embryotrophic potential of an established human endometrial cell line to that of two other epithelial cell types: human oviduct and African monkey kidney (Vero) cells. Design Mouse IVF was performed. Subsequent development of embryos cocultured with our endometrial cell line was contrasted to that seen with oviductal and Vero cell coculture systems. Percent blastocyst transformation, expansion, and hatching were compared. Setting University-based research laboratory associated with clinical IVF program. Results All three epithelial cell monolayers tested significantly improved the rate of blastocyst transformation of in vitro fertilized murine oocytes. The overall percent blastocysts obtained was highest with endometrial cells (69%), followed by oviductal cells (52%), Vero cells (45%), and the medium-alone controls (29%). Only 13% of oviduct cocultured embryos were able to reach the hatched blastocyst stage compared with a 30% hatching rate with endometrial cells and a 21% hatching rate with Vero cells. Only 3% of control embryos hatched in vitro. Conclusion We have described a novel continuous endometrial cell line with excellent embryotrophic potential. This cell line is technically easy to use and is of human origin. As a coculture system it appears to be superior to both oviductal and Vero cells in correcting for defects in culture environment during in vitro development up to the blastocyst stage.
Human defects of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

Deficiency of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC), a critical enzyme of energy metabolism, would appear incompatible with survival, particularly in the intrauterine environment where energy production depends primarily on glucose oxidation. The now well-established occurrence of these defects presents a challenge to provide physiological explanations of what factors determine survival and adaptation of affected individuals. Unfortunately, for most affected individuals, deleterious effects on the central nervous system are severe. Biochemical and genetic explanations for why this group of disorders is so heterogeneous are beginning to emerge. Several reviews concerning clinical, biochemical, and genetic features of PDC deficiency and related disorders have been published recently (Robinson, 1995; Kerr and Zinn, 1995; Dahl, 1995; Patel and Harris, 1995).
FERMENTATION OF SUGARS

This chapter discusses the fermentation of sugars. The products of fermentation are organic chemicals and the products can be a clue to the mechanism of the fermentation. As fermentation is a relatively poor energy-yielding process compared to aerobic oxidation, large amounts of sugar are utilized, usually with negligible assimilation of the carbon of the energy source. This latter fact makes it feasible to prepare fermentation balances that are chemical balances of products per mole of sugar utilized. Fermentation balance studies are usually made with organisms grown in sealed flasks under an inert atmosphere or with a washed cell suspension in a medium that contains the energy source but that will not allow proliferation of the organism. The chapter presents Embden–Meyerhof fermentations. The elucidation of the Embden–Meyerhof or glycolytic pathway for the anaerobic catabolism of glucose was largely a result of the studies with muscle and yeast, but it was apparent that the fermentation of hexoses by some species of bacteria was similar to the Embden–Meyerhof pathway.
Cellular Pathogenesis of Gastroparesis

Although gastroparesis represents a significant health care burden, it lacks effective and curative therapy. Studies in animal models have identified degenerative changes in the gastric tunica muscularis, such as loss of interstitial cells of Cajal and nitrergic neurotransmission as major pathogenetic factors in this disorder. Recently, the same abnormalities were detected in relatively large cohorts of patients with refractory gastroparesis. This chapter reviews how these and other cellular changes can lead to the development of gastroparesis. It is proposed that gastroparesis develops from an interaction between chronic cell depletion and acute functional challenges. Future therapeutic approaches should focus on restoring tissue integrity by preventing or countering cell degeneration or by replacing the missing cells.
Mentoring in community-based participatory research: The RCMAR experience

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) has been identified as a useful strategy to overcome disparities in minority elders. However, little consensus exists with respect to appropriate CBPR training and mentoring mechanisms. In this paper, we summarize the mentoring activities in each of the six currently funded Resource Centers on Minority Aging Research (RCMAR). In addition to mentoring trainees and/or junior faculty, we also explore the bi-directional mentoring that occurs when faculty at academic health centers develop partnerships with members of their target communities.
Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation linear due to H2O greenhouse effect

Satellite measurements and radiative calculations show that Earth’s outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) is an essentially linear function of surface temperature over a wide range of temperatures (≳60 K). Linearity implies that radiative forcing has the same impact in warmer as in colder climates and is thus of fundamental importance for understanding past and future climate change. Although the evidence for a nearly linear relation was first pointed out more than 50 y ago, it is still unclear why this relation is valid and when it breaks down. Here we present a simple semianalytical model that explains Earth’s linear OLR as an emergent property of an atmosphere whose greenhouse effect is dominated by a condensable gas. Linearity arises from a competition between the surface’s increasing thermal emission and the narrowing of spectral window regions with warming and breaks down at high temperatures once continuum absorption cuts off spectral windows. Our model provides a way of understanding the longwave contribution to Earth’s climate sensitivity and suggests that extrasolar planets with other condensable greenhouse gases could have climate dynamics similar to Earth’s.
The Melodrama of the Unknown Man

The sustained attention that Cavell gives to artistic modernism in his early work seems to fade from his later work. But while the specific language of “modernism” becomes infrequent, the same themes remain present. In this chapter, I argue that the modernist artist becomes a type of moral perfectionist, especially in the account of perfectionism provided in the melodramas of the unknown woman. Read together, it becomes plain that modernism is melodramatic. I then explore whether the connections between modernism, perfectionism and melodrama can help us be better readers of his memoir, Little Did I Know, a text which can sometimes seem to invite the subtitle “The Melodrama of the Unknown Man.”
Crashing the Party? Elites, Outsiders, and Elections

We study an elections model in which political parties are internally divided betweenan âeliteâ and a âbaseâ whose preferences are imperfectly aligned. Elites are better informedabout the quality of potential nominees, and their endorsements can identify andpromote high quality candidates. However, elites may also choose to restrict their endorsementsto candidates who adopt their preferred policies. We introduce a threat ofentry from outsider candidates, who have the prominence and resources to bypass partyelites. We consider when voters will turn to an outsider candidate, and identify the conditionsunder which an outsider challenge will come in the primary as opposed to as athird-party candidacy. We further explore when this threat disciplines elite endorsementsand the conditions under which outsider challenges are most likely to succeed.
Current Treatment Options for Breast Cancer Brain Metastases

In the past, the standard of care for treatment of BM was whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT), stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), and surgery. There has been a greater role for medical therapies in the last two decades due to the discovery of driver mutations and corresponding targeted therapies. These innovations have dramatically altered the approach to treating these patients. Some of the important mutations include epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutations in small cell lung cancer, human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2) mutation in breast cancer, and BRAF mutation in melanoma. Disease-specific graded prognostic assessments have identified prognostic factors for each of the major tumor types associated with BM. These reflect the increased treatment sensitivity of these tumors to specific agents. Furthermore, there is a difference in the genetic makeup of BM compared to their primary tumor. Genomic studies of BM patients comparing somatic point mutations and copy number variations with their primary tumor have demonstrated that while both the primary tumor and BM share a number of common mutations, BM can often develop distinct mutations. Therefore, there is a need to individualize systemic therapies in BM. Several organizations including the Food and Drug Administration and the American Society of Clinical Oncology now emphasize the inclusion of BM patients in various phases of clinical drug development.
Twenty Anecdotes in Search of a Theme: A Brief History of SIGMIS

This article offers a detailed history of the evolution of ACM SIGMIS from its origins before it was even called SIGMIS. Understanding the past and the origins of SIGMIS is useful to understand how the publication that we know as The DATA BASE for Advances in Information Systems developed. Furthermore, by examining the past and critical points in this history of the SIG and publication, it is possible to consider opportunities for the future.
SU‐E‐T‐159: Development of An Independent, Monte Carlo, Dose Calculation, Quality Assurance Tool for Clinical Trials

Purpose: To commission a multiple‐source Monte Carlo model of Elekta linear accelerator beams of nominal energies 6MV and 10MV. Methods: A three source, Monte Carlo model of Elekta 6 and 10MV therapeutic x‐ray beams was developed in a two‐step process. Energy spectra of each of three sources, a primary source corresponding to photons created in the target, an extra‐focal source corresponding to photons originating from scattered events in the linac head, and an electron contamination source, were determined. The two photon sources were determined by an optimization process that fit the relative fluence of 0.25 MeV energy bins to the product of Fatigue‐Life and Fermi functions to match calculated percent depth dose (PDD) data with that measured in water for a 10×10cm2 field. Off‐axis effects were modeled by fitting the off‐axis fluence to a piece‐wise linear function through optimization of relative fluence to match calculated dose profiles with measured dose profiles for a 40×40cm2 field. A 3rd degree polynomial was used to describe the off‐axis half‐value layer as a function of off‐axis angle. The model was then commissioned by comparing calculated PDDs and dose profiles for field sizes ranging from 3×3cm2 to 30×30cm2 to those obtained from measurements. Results: Agreement between calculated and measured data was evaluated using 2%/2mm global gamma criterion for field sizes of 3×3, 5×5, 10×10, 15×15, 20×20, and 30×30cm2. Along the central axis of the beam 99.5% and 99.6% of all data passed the criterion for 6 and 10MV models, respectively. Dose profiles at depths of dmax, 5, 10, 20, and 25cm agreed with measured data for 95.4% and 99.2% of data tested for 6 and 10MV models, respectively. Conclusion: A Monte Carlo multiple‐source model for Elekta 6 and 10MV therapeutic x‐ray beams has been developed as a quality assurance tool for clinical trials. This work was supported by Public Health Service grants CA010953, CA081647, and CA21661 awarded by the National Cancer Institute, United States Department of Health and Human Services.
Do commercial buildings become less efficient when they provide grid ancillary services

Commercial buildings offer a vast thermal energy storage capability. Control of building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems can potentially be used to balance variations in renewable generation and load. Specifically, buildings can provide ancillary services to the grid by decreasing and increasing consumption with respect to their baseline, making them appear as energy storage to the power system operator. However, a recent study has shown that buildings providing these services tend to consume more energy, resulting in a low effective round-trip efficiency. To explore this phenomenon further, experiments were conducted on three buildings on the University of Michigan campus. The buildings were chosen to provide a variety in structure, size, and HVAC system layout. They were instrumented in early summer of 2017 and baseline power and building automation system (BAS) data were collected for several months in 2017 and 2018. The building thermostats were then perturbed through predefined patterns emulating ancillary service events, enabling detailed investigation of the resulting electrical energy consumption. This paper presents experimental results, focusing on the additional energy consumed and effective input/output efficiency. The three buildings respond with mean round-trip efficiencies ranging from 34 to 81%, with individual tests yielding efficiencies far outside that range. We also find that the efficiency of building response depends on the magnitude and polarity of the temperature setpoint changes. Our results are consistent with past experimental results, but inconsistent with past modeling results. This indicates that the models need to be improved in order to capture the energy impacts of ancillary service provision by buildings.
IGBT Applications: Renewable Energy

Power conditioning is required for the energy generated from all renewable power sources. The insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) is used in the inverters for producing well-regulated 50/60 Hz AC power to the grid. The circuits used for the transmission of power from hydroelectric power plants are described first in this chapter. The IGBT is utilized for all solar-inverters that convert the DC power produced by the photovoltaic panels into the AC power delivered to the residence or the grid. A variety of inverter designs that use IGBTs are covered here. The variable frequency output produced by wind power generation is converted to AC power delivered to the grid using IGBT-based inverters. A stand-alone wind power generator design which can track the maximum power point is also described here. Electrical energy can be generated using wave power. Several wave power generator design with IGBTs used for power conversion are discussed. The application of the IGBT for generation of power from tidal and geothermal energy is also included.