cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of pregnancy and lactation on lipoprotein and cholesterol metabolism in the rat

Origins of hyperlipidemia and cholestasis that occur during pregnancy were investigated by examining expression of key elements related to plasma and hepatic cholesterol metabolism during pregnancy, lactation, and post-lactation in the rat model. Among major findings were: during pregnancy, the activities of hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, acyl coenzyme A:cholesterol acyltransferase, acyl coenzyme A:diacylglycerol acyltransferase, cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase, cholesterol ester hydrolases, low density lipoprotein receptors, LRP, and mdr2 were significantly lower or similar to non-pregnant controls while SR-B1 was elevated. Once lactation began, reductase, cholesterol acyltransferase, 7alpha-hydroxylase activities, low density lipoprotein receptors, and mdr2 increased while SR-B1 decreased. In later stages of lactation most hepatic elements returned to near control levels. Plasma cholesterol levels were higher than control at birth and during lactation with increase in LDL-size particles. By 24 h post-lactation, plasma triglycerides were 3.7-fold higher while cholesterol remained unchanged. Very large lipoproteins were present while LDL-size particles were now absent. Hepatic cholesterol acyltransferase had decreased to 27% of control while diacylglycerol acyltransferase increased 3-fold and low density lipoprotein receptors doubled. Most elements were normalized 3 weeks after weaning except for LRP and low density lipoprotein receptors which were elevated. These studies provide an integrated picture of expression of key elements of hepatic and plasma cholesterol metabolism during pregnancy and lactation and advance understanding of hyperlipidemia and cholestasis during these states.
Entertainment–Education? A Fotonovela? A New Strategy to Improve Depression Literacy and Help-Seeking Behaviors in At-Risk Immigrant Latinas

Research shows high risk for depression among immigrant Latinas known to increase during the acculturation process. Several barriers such as stigma and low health literacy result in an under-utilization of needed treatment among these women. In response, this study replicated the effectiveness of a Spanish language fotonovela, a form of Entertainment-Education (E-E), designed to increase depression literacy, decrease stigma, and increase help-seeking knowledge and behavior in Latinos. Specifically, this study evaluated a fotonovela delivered in a multifaceted approach to health education used by promotoras. A pretest-posttest randomized control group experimental design with 142 immigrant Latinas at risk for depression was employed. Results indicate significant posttest improvements in depression knowledge, self-efficacy to identify the need for treatment, and decreased stigma in experimental as compared to control group participants. Findings support the application of E-E health literacy tools such as fotonovelas, delivered in multifaceted approaches to health education used by promotoras, to Latinas at risk for mental health concerns.
An enumerative method for runlength-limited codes: permutation codes

Permutation codes, introduced by Slepian (1965), were shown to perform well on an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel. Unfortunately, these codes required large lookup tables, making them quite complex to implement even though the maximum-likelihood decoder is very simple. In this correspondence, we present an enumeration scheme which encodes and decodes permutation codes with low complexity. We concentrate on the use of permutation codes for constructing high-rate codes that satisfy runlength-limited constraints. Wolf (1990) showed that permutation codes can be used for runlength constraints and that they have rate that asymptotically achieves the capacity of a noiseless, runlength-limited constrained channel. Wolf, however, gave no efficient encoders/decoder. Our code construction is enumerative, but unlike other enumerative codes, has storage requirements that are a function of the runlength parameters d and k instead of the block length n. In addition, these codes have error detection and correction capabilities. Finally, we use this approach to construct (0, G/I) codes whereby all odd-numbered occurrences of double-adjacent errors are detected. As an example, a 99.2% efficient, rate 498/528, (0, 6/3) code is presented.
Five levels of self-awareness as they unfold early in life

When do children become aware of themselves as differentiated and unique entity in the world? When and how do they become self-aware? Based on some recent empirical evidence, 5 levels of self-awareness are presented and discussed as they chronologically unfold from the moment of birth to approximately 4-5 years of age. A natural history of children's developing self-awareness is proposed as well as a model of adult self-awareness that is informed by the dynamic of early development. Adult self-awareness is viewed as the dynamic flux between basic levels of consciousness that develop chronologically early in life.
The Major Cyberincident Investigations Board

One reason that airplanes are so safe is that crashes are investigated by government agencies; the results are published, and the lessons from one crash go into future airplane design, pilot training, and technology to prevent another. There's nothing like that in the computer world, which is one reason why we see the same failures over and over again. The authors suggests that we need a Major Cyberincident Investigations Board, which would be charged with performinga#x0097;and publishinga#x0097;detailed analyses of the causes of significant computer-related incidents.
Excimer Laser-induced Ablation of Doped Poly(Tetrafluoroethylene)

Teflons ® , including poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE), poly(tetrafluoroethyleneco-perfluorovinyl ether) (PFA), poly(tetrafluoroethylene-cohexafluoropropylene) (FEP), and Teflon-AF ®, constitute a family of fluorine-containing polymers that are scientifically and industrially well known for many desirable physical properties, including excellent chemical resistance, high thermal stability, low coefficient of friction, low dielectric constant, and low surface free energy.* Scientific and engineering research involving these materials has been extensive and highly successful, with considerable focus having been placed on the modification of the fluoropolymers’ surface to increase surface energy, modify wetting characteristics, and improve bonding to other materials. Methods developed to improve the wetting properties of, and/or adhesion to, PTFE and other Teflon films include adsorption of a different polymer (to increase the surface energy of the substrate) from solution,1 chemical reduction process with sodium naphthalene,2 – 4 plasma treatment,5 – 1 2 exposure to ion beams,13–17 vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation,18 X-rays, 19–21 electrons, 19,20,22 and UV lasers.23 ,24 Surface alterations to the fluoropolymers by the aforementioned methods include cross-linking, branching,
Differential role of Sloan–Kettering Institute (Ski) protein in Nodal and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β)-induced Smad signaling in prostate cancer cells

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathways contain both tumor suppressor and tumor promoting activities. We have demonstrated that Nodal, another member of the TGF-β superfamily, and its receptors are expressed in prostate cancer cells. Nodal and TGF-β exerted similar biological effects on prostate cells; both inhibited proliferation in WPE, RWPE1 and DU145 cells, whereas neither had any effect on the proliferation of LNCaP or PC3 cells. Interestingly, Nodal and TGF-β induced migration in PC3 cells, but not in DU145 cells. TGF-β induced predominantly phosphorylation of Smad3, whereas Nodal induced phosphorylation of only Smad2. We also determined the expression and differential role of Ski, a corepressor of Smad2/3, in Nodal and TGF-β signaling in prostate cancer cells. Similar levels of Ski mRNA were found in several established prostate cell lines; however, high levels of Ski protein were only detected in prostate cancer cells and prostate cancer tissue samples. Exogenous Nodal and TGF-β had no effects on Ski mRNA levels. On the other hand, TGF-β induced a rapid degradation of Ski protein mediated by the proteasomal pathway, whereas Nodal had no effect on Ski protein. Reduced Ski levels correlated with increased basal and TGF-β-induced Smad2/3 phosphorylation. Knockdown of endogenous Ski reduced proliferation in DU145 cells and enhanced migration of PC3 cells. We conclude that high levels of Ski expression in prostate cancer cells may be responsible for repression of TGF-β and Smad3 signaling, but Ski protein levels do not influence Nodal and Smad2 signaling.
Concentrations and ratios of Sr, Ba and Ca along an estuarine river to the Gulf of Mexico – implication for sea level rise effects on trace metal distribution

Abstract. Strontium and barium to calcium ratios are often used as proxies for tracking animal movement across salinity gradients. As sea level rise continues, many estuarine rivers in the world face saltwater intrusion, which may cause changes in mobility and distribution of these metals upstream. Despite intensive research on metal adsorption and desorption in marine systems, knowledge of the spatiotemporal distribution of these elements along estuarine rivers is still limited. In this study, we conducted an intensive monitoring of Sr and Ba dynamics along an 88 km long estuary, the Calcasieu River in South Louisiana, USA, which has been strongly affected by saltwater intrusion. Over the period from May 2013 to August 2015, we collected monthly water samples and performed in-situ water quality measurements at six sites from the upstream to the river mouth, with a salinity range from 0.02 to 29.50 ppt. Water samples were analyzed for Sr, Ba, and Ca concentrations. In-situ measurements were made on salinity, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, and specific conductance. We found that the Sr and Ca concentrations and the Sr / Ca ratio all increased significantly with increasing salinity. The average Sr concentration at the site closest to the Gulf of Mexico (site 6) was 46.21 μmol L−1, which was about 130 times higher than that of the site furthest upstream (site 1, 0.35 μmol L−1). The average Ca concentration at site 6 was 8.19 mmol L−1, which was about 60 times higher than that of site 1 (0.13 mmol L−1). The average Sr / Ca ratio at site 6 (8.41 mmol mol−1) was about 3 times the average Sr / Ca ratio at site 1 (2.89 mmol mol−1). However, the spatial variation in Ba concentration was marginal, varying from 0.36 μmol L−1 at site 6 to 0.47 at site 5. The average Ba / Ca ratio at site 1 (4.82 mmol mol−1) was about 54 times the average Ba / Ca ratio at site 6 (0.09 mmol mol−1), showing a clear negative relation between the Ba / Ca ratio and increasing salinity. All the elemental concentrations and ratios had considerable seasonal variations, with significant differences among sampling months for the Sr, Ba concentrations and the Ba / Ca ratio (p
Uta stansburiana and Elgaria multicarinata on the California Channel Islands: Natural Dispersal or Artificial Introduction?

Abstract Uta stansburiana and Elgaria multicarinata occur on several California Channel Islands, and recent introduction of some populations has been suggested because of similarity in life-history traits and body size to mainland populations. We sequenced representatives of each species from mainland southern California and some of the islands on which they occur. For each species, cytochrome b sequence divergence is low across the narrow geographic area sampled. Analyses of 14 haplotypes of U. stansburiana suggest long-established residency on Santa Catalina and San Clemente Islands but more recent arrival on San Nicolas and Santa Cruz Islands. Analyses of eight haplotypes of E. multicarinata suggest these lizards may have been recently transported to San Nicolas Island.
Compliance and phototherapy

When beginning a phototherapy regimen for a patient, consideration of compliance rates is important. Compliance to phototherapy can be affected by several factors, including the grade of discomfort and side effects from therapy, failure of previous therapies, accessibility and convenience to reach the phototherapy center, grade of improvement during phototherapy, patient relief due to light therapy, and rapport with staff. Understanding how these factors can affect patient adherence can allow for phototherapy regimens to be tailored in a manner that optimizes health outcomes and allows for proper patient selection.
Guiding conservation and renewable energy development using a paired return-on-investment approach

Abstract Return-on-investment (ROI) can help integrate prioritization efforts for developers and conservation organizations alike. To examine this complementarity and to investigate improving dialogue across these two sectors, we conducted paired ROI assessments from the perspective of wind development and biodiversity conservation in the northeastern United States. Spatially explicit layers defined the three ROI components: benefit, cost, and probability of success. For the wind development ROI, we modeled turbine suitability using the random forest algorithm to develop the benefit surface. We treated biodiversity information related to permitting and development as a cost surface and applied land conservation status towards the probability of success term. The conservation ROI applied biodiversity priorities as the benefit surface, applied a higher environmental cost to areas with high wind turbine development value, and used estimates of ecosystem resilience to define the probability of success. This ROI highlighted conservation potential after applying the constraints of wind energy development. The analysis suggests that New York State, US, may be able to accommodate 16,000 Megawatts of power generation while avoiding conservation priorities, more than sufficient landscape to situate turbines up to the predicted capacity based on grid reliability (6600 MW). Further, the two ROI models taken together are more instructive than results from either model alone. Sensitivity analyses revealed that altering the weightings of the biodiversity input variables rarely changed the relationship among the two ROI models from place to place. We suggest that applying ROI from different perspectives may help form an important communication bridge between conservation and development tradeoffs, and prove valuable in the debate over renewable energy production options in the context of their environmental impacts.
Elastic and thermal expansion asymmetry in dense molecular materials.

Molecular materials are shown to have asymmetry in their elastic modulus and coefficient of thermal expansion in tension and compression, associated with terminal chemical groups that alter network connectivity.
Predictive markers of response in a Phase I/II pharmacodynamic (PD) study of erlotinib and bevacizumab for recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (HNC)

C165 Background: EGFR activation up-regulates VEGF, which has been correlated with resistance to anti-EGFR agents. This PD study investigated the effects of the EGFR inhibitor erlotinib (E) with the VEGF antibody bevacizumab (B) in recurrent or metastatic HNC. Methods: Phase I/II trial of fixed dose erlotinib (E) 150 mg orally daily with escalation of bevacizumab (B) to a maximum of 15 mg/kg q 3 weeks and continued at 15mg/kg in the phase II portion. Pts were randomized to receive the initial bevacizumab dose on either day 1 or 15. Serum levels of VEGF and TGFα were quantified by ELISA. Pre-treatment (n=12) and post-treatment (n=5) biopsies taken after 2 weeks of treatment (after E alone or E+B) were analyzed by immunofluorescence and laser scanning analysis for target pathway inhibition (phosphorylated VEGFR2 (KDR), EGFR, and ERK) in endothelial (CD31) and tumor cells, and apoptosis. Results: Serum VEGF levels were decreased by E or E+B (p=0.057), but TGFα levels were increased (p=0.097) and no correlation with clinical response or PFS was observed. Paired tissue samples showed that E or E+B treatment reduced expression of pERK by 47% (p=0.05) and pERK/ERK ratio by 53% (p=0.04). Further, E or E +B treatment increased apoptosis in tumor cells (pre: 1.05%, post: 7.98%: p=0.03) and endothelial cells (pre: 0%, post: 14.43%: p=0.09). At baseline, higher pEGFR/EGFR (ratio) and pKDR/KDR correlated with complete response (CR) (CR>non-CR: p=0.09 and p=0.002, respectively). Using a second anti-pKDR antibody, we confirmed that higher pKDR/KDR also correlated with CR (p=0.02). Higher pKDR/KDR also correlated with changes in tumor size (p=0.04) and better PFS (p=0.18 by Cox regression). Conclusions: Compared to E alone, E + B showed increased inhibition of survival factors, e.g., pERK. pEGFR/EGFR and pKDR/KDR appear to predict complete response to E+B in this small patient cohort. The promising clinical efficacy of E+B and potential predictive biomarkers warrant further study and validation. (Supported by NIH N01 CM-57018-16 and NCI U01-63187)
A new life-style for marine science: The international decade of ocean exploration

Single-ship oceanographic cruises give way more and more to synoptic studies of the oceans. This new style of exploration is made possible by the appearance of the digital computer and its application in marine science in the last decade. High speed digital computers are not only utilized for faster processing of conventionally acquired data, but particularly in building descriptive and predictive models of the oceans and the atmosphere. It is hoped that the next decade will see a greater exploitation of the opportunities provided by computers by teams of scientists from different nations, to approach the major scientific questions of the environment on a global scale. These programs will require state-of-the-art technology, and will require adoption of organization and management methods developed for industry and somewhat more autocratic than is traditional in the scientific community. A focal point for such a new approach to marine science and for meeting the challenge of the Seventies is the NSF's Office for the International Decade of Ocean Exploration in which the United States and other participating nations will apply their combined resources to expand their knowledge of the earth's marine environment for their mutual benefit. Three major elements of the Office's program are described here. They are: the MidOcean Dynamics Experiment, the Coastal Upwelling Experiment, and the Paleo-oceanographic Project. Scientific and technical program details are highlighted in this paper and an outlook for future operations is provided.
Respiratory Considerations Including Airway and Ventilation Issues in Critical Care Obstetric Patients

Critical care management of the obstetric patient can present unique challenges. Parturients who present with respiratory distress can suffer from a multitude of etiologies, and each diagnosis must be pursued as appropriate to the clinical picture. Normal physiologic changes of pregnancy may obscure the presentation and diagnosis, and irrelevant of the cause, pregnancy may complicate the management of hypoxic and hypercarbic respiratory failure in this patient population. In addition to these concerns, both anticipated and unanticipated difficult airway management, including difficulty ventilating and intubating, are more common during pregnancy and may be encountered during endotracheal tube placement.
The Physics of Event-Driven IoT Systems

Internet of Things (IoT) systems will require the installation and operation of huge numbers of sensors and processing nodes. Self-powered, energy- scavenging IoT devices would reduce the installation and operational cost of these systems. But energy scavenging faces basic limits on the amount of power that can be drawn from the environment, and IoT devices exhibit similar lower bounds on the amount of power they must consume to perform useful work.
The Struggle for Equal Adulthood: Gender, Race, Age, and the Fight for Citizenship in Antebellum America. By Corinne T. Field. (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2014. Pp. xiii, 243. $32.95.)

One cannot study nineteenth‐century America without occasionally coming across both overt and subtle references to white women and blacks as childlike dependents. Too often, such statements can be ...
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in Massive Pulmonary Embolism.

Abstract Background Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) has been suggested for cardiopulmonary support in patients with massive pulmonary embolism (PE) refractory to other treatment or as bridging to embolectomy. The survival benefit from ECMO in patients with massive PE remains unclear. Methods Here, we describe 5 cases in which ECMO was used as cardiopulmonary support following massive near-fatal pulmonary embolism. Results The overall mortality in patients with massive PE that received ECMO support was 40%. Death occurred secondary to ECMO-related complication in one case and due to inability to maintain adequate cerebral perfusion despite ECMO support in the second case. Conclusions ECMO can be considered as a treatment modality for patients with massive PE.
An efficient route to unsymmetrical bis(azolium) salts: CCC-NHC pincer ligand complex precursors

Abstract The coupling of N-heterocyclic azoles (imidazoles, benzimidazoles, triazoles) to bromobenzenes (1,2-; 1,3-; or 1,4) in a step-wise, sequential manner was accomplished by manipulation of reaction time and stoichiometry, which provided straight-forward access to unsymmetrical bis(azolium) salts in only three isolation steps from commercially-available starting materials. Eight mono(azole) substituted bromobenzenes, four mono(azolium)bromobenzene salts, twelve unsymmetrical bis(azole)benzenes, and fourteen unsymmetrical bis(azolium) salts, which are precursors for pincer ligand complexes, are reported.
MicroRNAs downregulated following immune activation of rat testis

PROBLEM Little is known about how infection and the response to inflammation affect the microRNA (miRNA) profile of the male reproductive tract. We hypothesized that expression of inflammatory-related miRNAs would be altered following immune activation of rat testis. METHOD OF STUDY Testis total RNA was purified from Sprague-Dawley rats 3 or 6 hours after receiving a 5 mg/kg intraperitoneal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and examined by qPCR using an 84-panel miRNA array. RESULTS Five inflammatory-related miRNAs showed a greater than twofold downregulation (P<.05) in the 3-hour group (rno-let-7f-5p, rno-miR-200c-3p, rno-miR-23a-3p, rno-miR-23b-3p, rno-miR-98-5p) and five from the 6-hour group (rno-miR-17-5p, rno-miR-19a-3p, rno-miR-34a-5p, rno-miR-34c-5p, rno-miR-449a-5p). CONCLUSION Review of the literature has revealed that these miRNAs also play important roles in the maintenance of fertility, formation and elimination of cancer, and development of the male reproductive tract. Further study will lead to a greater understanding of male reproductive immunology and related health issues.
Hungary and Mexico's Constitutional Parallels

JURIST Guest Columnist Kevin Govern of Ave Maria School of Law says that the newly enacted Hungarian Constitution has significant similarities to the Mexican Constitution of 1917, particularly in its provisions dealing with the recognition of religions and the resistance to these provisions.
Computational flow cytometry analysis reveals a unique immune signature of the human maternal-fetal interface.

Problem Decidual immune dysregulation is thought to underlie major pregnancy disorders; however, incomplete understanding of the decidual immune interface has hampered the mechanistic investigation. Method of study Human term decidua was collected, and single-cell phenotypic information was acquired by highly polychromatic flow cytometry. Cellular identity analysis was performed with t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding, DensVM clustering, and matched to CellOntology database. Results Traditional analytical methods validated known cellular T and dendritic cell subsets in human term decidua. Computational analysis revealed a complex and tissue-specific decidual immune signature in both the innate and adaptive immune compartments. Conclusion Polychromatic flow cytometry with a streamlined computational analysis pipeline is a feasible approach to comprehensive immunome mapping of human term decidua. As an unbiased, standardized method of investigation, computational flow cytometry promises to unravel the immune pathology of pregnancy disorders.
Synthesis of ent-[3]-Ladderanol: Development and Application of Intramolecular Chirality Transfer [2+2] Cycloadditions of Allenic Ketones and Alkenes

An enantioselective synthesis of ent-[3]-ladderanol is presented. The ladderanes are an interesting class of molecules for their unique structure of fused cyclobutane rings as well as their perceived biological function of organism protection. The route hinges on the development and application of a chirality transfer [2+2] cycloaddition of an allenic ketone and alkene. Further stereocontrolled transformations allowed for completion of the synthesis. The scope of the chirality transfer [2+2] cycloaddition is also presented.
Minimally Manipulated Bone Marrow Concentrate Compared with Microfracture Treatment of Full-Thickness Chondral Defects: A One-Year Study in an Equine Model.

Background Microfracture is commonly performed for cartilage repair but usually results in fibrocartilage. Microfracture augmented by autologous bone marrow concentrate (BMC) was previously shown to yield structurally superior cartilage repairs in an equine model compared with microfracture alone. The current study was performed to test the hypothesis that autologous BMC without concomitant microfracture improves cartilage repair compared with microfracture alone. Methods Autologous sternal bone marrow aspirate (BMA) was concentrated using a commercial system. Cells from BMC were evaluated for chondrogenic potential in vitro and in vivo. Bilateral full-thickness chondral defects (15-mm diameter) were created on the midlateral trochlear ridge in 8 horses. Paired defects were randomly assigned to treatment with BMC without concomitant microfracture, or to microfracture alone. The repairs were evaluated at 1 year by in vitro assessment, arthroscopy, morphological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), quantitative T2-weighted and ultrashort echo time enhanced T2* (UTE-T2*) MRI mapping, and histological assessment. Results Culture-expanded but not freshly isolated cells from BMA and BMC underwent cartilage differentiation in vitro. In vivo, cartilage repairs in both groups were fibrous to fibrocartilaginous at 1 year of follow-up, with no differences observed between BMC and microfracture by arthroscopy, T2 and UTE-T2* MRI values, and histological assessment (p > 0.05). Morphological MRI showed subchondral bone changes not observed by arthroscopy and improved overall outcomes for the BMC repairs (p = 0.03). Differences in repair tissue UTE-T2* texture features were observed between the treatment groups (p Conclusions When BMC was applied directly to critical-sized, full-thickness chondral defects in an equine model, the cartilage repair results were similar to those of microfracture. Our data suggest that, given the few mesenchymal stem cells in minimally manipulated BMC, other mechanisms such as paracrine, anti-inflammatory, or immunomodulatory effects may have been responsible for tissue regeneration in a previous study in which BMC was applied to microfractured repairs. While our conclusions are limited by small numbers, the better MRI outcomes for the BMC repairs may have been related to reduced surgical trauma to the subchondral bone. Clinical relevance MRI provides important information on chondral defect subsurface repair organization and subchondral bone structure that is not well assessed by arthroscopy.
Patient and social characteristics contributing to disparities in outcomes after burn injury: application of database research to minority health in the burn population.

Abstract Background Although racial disparities have been well described in trauma and medical literature, less is known about disparities in the burn population, especially the Native American, Hispanic, Black, and Asian minority groups. This study seeks to identify at-risk populations for differences in patient and social characteristics that may link certain race groups to disparate burn outcomes. Methods Data was reviewed from the National Burn Repository. Information regarding patient demographics, co-morbidities, complications, and clinical outcomes was recorded. Student's T-test, ANOVA, and binary logistic regression were used to assess relationships between patient factors and outcomes. Results The Native American cohort had higher rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, and homelessness compared to all patients. Native Americans also had significantly longer hospital lengths of stay, and higher rates of respiratory failure, pneumonia, sepsis, and wound complications. The Black population demonstrated the highest percentage of injury at home, child abuse, and non-insurance. Mortality was highest in the Black population compared to all patients. Conclusions These findings suggest that outcome disparities exist in burn-injured patients in multiple minority groups.
Discovery of Antimicrobial Lipodepsipeptides Produced by a Serratia sp. within Mosquito Microbiomes.

The Anopheles mosquito that harbors the Plasmodium parasite contains a microbiota that can influence both the vector and the parasite. In recent years, insect-associated microbes have highlighted the untapped potential of exploiting interspecies interactions to discover bioactive compounds. In this study, we report the discovery of nonribosomal lipodepsipeptides that are produced by a Serratia sp. within the midgut and salivary glands of Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes. The lipodepsipeptides, stephensiolides A-K, have antibiotic activity and facilitate bacterial surface motility. Bioinformatic analyses indicate that the stephensiolides are ubiquitous in nature and are likely important for Serratia spp. colonization within mosquitoes, humans, and other ecological niches. Our results demonstrate the usefulness of probing insect-microbiome interactions, enhance our understanding of the chemical ecology within Anopheles mosquitoes, and provide a secondary-metabolite scaffold for further investigate of this complex relationship.
Low-dose radiation use in diagnostic imaging and cancer therapy settings.

Current methods of radiation safety are characterized by age-old hypotheses that claim low doses of radiation, such as those received in diagnostic imaging and cancer treatment, increase the risk of cancer. The linear no-threshold hypothesis dates back to 70 years and has not been scientifically validated, yet it remains the driving force behind current regulatory policies concerning radiation exposure. The linear no-threshold hypothesis has birthed the “as low as reasonably achievable” concept that is commonly practiced in medical professions to limit radiation exposure. Both perpetuate an unscientific radiophobia stigma, while undermining the more likely result of stimulation of protective responses from the low doses of radiation. This article serves to reemphasize the fallacies of carcinogenic risk and to highlight the possible benefits of low-dose exposure in hopes of invalidating the concerns of physicians, the diagnostic imaging technologists, and patient populations that are subject to diagnostic imaging and cancer radiation therapies.
Structure of Cybercrime in Developing Economies

Cybercrime’s footprints across the developing world are getting bigger. In this chapter, we examine the structure of cybercrimes in developing economies. Specifically, we analyze economic and institutional factors facing cyber-criminals and potential victims in the developing world. The findings indicate that formal institutions related to cybercrimes are thin and dysfunctional in a developing economy; a cyber-criminal is less likely to be stigmatized in a developing economy than in a developed economy; and organizations’ and individuals’ technological and behavioral defense mechanisms are likely to be weaker in a developing economy than in a developed economy.
Measuring educational outcomes for ABET accreditation of the undergraduate acoustical engineering programs at the University of Hartford

Located in West Hartford, CT, USA, the University of Hartford has two ABET-accredited acoustical engineering programs: the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) with Acoustics Concentration and a unique interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a major in Acoustical Engineering & Music. The national Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology accreditation process requires that an institution identify and provide evidence of Program Educational Objectives, Student Outcomes, Required Curricular Components, Relevant Facilities, Faculty Expertise, and Methods of Continuous Improvement. The differences and key points of these criteria will be discussed, along the manner by which each are measured. The results of a recent ABET accreditation visit will be described.Located in West Hartford, CT, USA, the University of Hartford has two ABET-accredited acoustical engineering programs: the Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (BSME) with Acoustics Concentration and a unique interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science in Engineering with a major in Acoustical Engineering & Music. The national Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology accreditation process requires that an institution identify and provide evidence of Program Educational Objectives, Student Outcomes, Required Curricular Components, Relevant Facilities, Faculty Expertise, and Methods of Continuous Improvement. The differences and key points of these criteria will be discussed, along the manner by which each are measured. The results of a recent ABET accreditation visit will be described.
Application of Text Data Mining To STEM Curriculum Selection and Development

We applied text data mining techniques from machine learning to position (job) descriptions posted on NYU’s job search site, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) standard U.S. job descriptions, course descriptions, and curricula descriptions. Our work compared Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TD-IDF) to Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and found that TD-IDF was preferred in this application. We used TD-IDF to measure the extent of coherence among the collections of our documents. We then leveraged those measurements to developed novel approaches to assist students and curricula designers in answering these questions: (1) for students, given an interest in specific jobs, which degrees and courses are most relevant; (2) for students, given courses that have been taken, which jobs are most likely to result in initial interviews; (3) for curricula designers, how aligned are degree programs with specific groups of jobs (for example, with STEM jobs); (4) for curricula designers, to what extent do current and proposed degrees address different job opportunities. Other similar applications are possible by composing our Python and JMP code. Our work could be extended by providing open source implementation of the algorithms.
Picoflow Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry for Ultrasensitive Bottom-Up Proteomics Using 2-μm-i.d. Open Tubular Columns

In many areas of application, key objectives of chemical separation and analysis are to minimize the sample quantity while maximizing the chemical information obtained. Increasing measurement sensitivity is especially critical for proteomics research, especially when processing trace samples and where multiple measurements are desired. A rich collection of technologies has been developed, but the resulting sensitivity remains insufficient for achieving in-depth coverage of proteomic samples as small as single cells. Here, we combine picoliter-scale liquid chromatography (picoLC) with mass spectrometry (MS) to address this issue. The picoLC employs a 2-μm-i.d. open tubular column to reduce the sample input needed to greatly increase the sensitivity achieved using electrospray ionization (ESI) with MS. With this picoLC-MS system, we show that we can identify ∼1000 proteins reliably using only 75 pg of tryptic peptides, representing a 10-100-fold sensitivity improvement compared with the state-of-the-art liquid chromatography (LC) or capillary electrophoresis (CE)-MS methods. PicoLC-MS extends the limit of separation science and is expected to be a powerful tool for single cell proteomics.
Evaluating Girls on the Run in Promoting Positive Youth Development: Group Comparisons on Life Skills Transfer and Social Processes.

PURPOSE Girls on the Run (GOTR), a physical activity-based positive youth development program, uses running as a platform to teach life skills and promote healthy behaviors. In this companion paper of our comprehensive project, the authors evaluated program impact on positive youth development by comparing GOTR participants to youth in other organized activities (Sport and physical education [PE]) on life skills transfer and social processes. Qualitative methods complemented quantitative data through interviews with GOTR stakeholders. METHOD The participants included 215 girls in GOTR and 692 girls in the same grades and schools who did not participate in GOTR (Sport = 485; PE = 207). They completed self-report measures of life skills transfer, peer and coach relatedness, and coach autonomy support at the season's end. GOTR subsamples of girls, coaches, caregivers, and school personnel participated in focus groups. RESULTS Girls in GOTR compared favorably to the Sport and PE girls on all life skills-managing emotions, resolving conflicts, helping others, and making intentional decisions-and to the PE girls for all 3 social processes. The GOTR and Sport girls did not differ on coach relatedness and autonomy support, but the Sport girls rated teammate relatedness higher. The GOTR girls' scores on life skills transfer remained stable at a 3-month follow-up assessment. Stakeholders in the focus groups shared corroborating evidence that, through participating in GOTR, girls learn skills that generalize to school and home contexts. CONCLUSION Using comparison groups, a retention assessment, and mixed methods, the findings provide evidence that GOTR is effective in teaching skills and strategies that generalize to broader life domains. The processes that explain group differences on life skills transfer include GOTR's intentional curriculum of skill-building activities delivered by coaches within a caring and autonomy-supportive climate.
Waste reduction and waste spillovers: evidence from unit-based pricing of municipal solid waste in Taiwan

This study evaluates the effects of unit-based pricing (UBP) of municipal solid waste and a mandatory recycling (MR) policy on waste reduction, recycling, illegal dumping, and garbage tourism incid...
Enhanced drug loading of in situ forming gels for oral mucositis pain control

Abstract Localized delivery to oral mucositis ulcerations requires specialized dosage forms, (e.g. in situ forming gels) delivered to the site in relatively low volumes. However, this is challenging for drugs with low solubility such as Bupivacaine γ-Linoleate (Bup-γL). The objective of this study is to develop an in situ forming gel with enhanced loading of Bup-γL for oral mucositis pain control. Two co-solvents (PEG400 and ethanol) and eight solubilizers (Tween 80, sodium lauryl sulfate, Cremophor® RH40, Cremophor® EL, Kolliphor® HS 15, Soluplus®, PEG 3350 and PEG8000) were screened for their capability to solubilize Bup-γL. Among all tested solubilizers, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) showed the highest solubilizing capacity (8.83 ± 0.94 mg/mL). This was considered to be a consequence of the similarity between the structure of SLS and Bup-γL. On the addition of SLS to the in situ forming gels, the drug loading was enhanced from ~6.5 to ~10.5 mg/ml. The formulations were characterized for their gelation temperature, rheological properties, in vitro drug release and short-term storage stability. The gelation temperatures of the in situ forming gel formulations were significantly reduced with enhanced drug loading. The in vitro drug release profiles showed good fit to both the first order and the Higuchi models. Formulations with SLS demonstrated sustained drug release (time to plateau ~7 h) compared with formulations without SLS (time to plateau ~3.5 h). This study offers an effective strategy to enhance drug loading of in situ forming gels. The enhanced drug loading will reduce the dosing volume and as such is expected to reduce any unwanted numbing of the healthy mucosa.
Translation as Charitable Currency: Exploring Linguistic Philanthropy from International Students and Alumni

Decades of extant research has suggested that higher education—in the United States (US) and beyond—has becoming increasingly internationalized, meaning that students have chosen to leave their home countries in pursuit of higher education (Altbach and Knight 2007). However, the bulk of research on the international student experience has overwhelmingly focused on why international students choose to leave home (Beech 2015), how international students choose institutions of higher education (Mazzarol and Soutar 2002), and international students’ experiences within institutions of higher education (Mamiseishvili 2012). As a critical source of institutional health—in both fiscal and cultural terms—alumni giving is an important area of scholarship that has been understudied among international education scholars, even though the impact of international students on their host countries and institutions has been well documented. In short, little is known about how international alumni are asked to give back to their alma mater.
Increasing utilization of tissue plasminogen activator in acute ischemic stroke with staff changes (P4.281)

Objective: To compare intravenous (iv) tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) utilization rates for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) at Geisinger Medical Center, a teaching hospital and certified primary stroke center, after implementing a new model of care with an attending neurologist in-house 24/7. Background: Thrombolysis using IV t-PA is one of few evidence based acute ischemic stroke treatments, yet achieving high rates of iv t-PA to eligible patients has been problematic. Design/Methods: Retrospective review of data regarding all patients presenting with AIS from March 1, 2015 to September 1, 2015 (phase 1) when the attending neurologist was in-house during the day, and on-call from home (with a neurology resident in-house) at night, and from January 1, 2016 to July 1, 2016 (phase 2) after we had an attending neurologist in-house 24/7. Results: During phase 1, 9.7% of the 309 patients admitted with AIS were treated with iv t-PA vs. 16.8% of the 250 AIS patients during phase 2 – i.e. a 7.1% increase in iv t-PA utilization for all comers with AIS during phase 2 [odds ratio 2.5; CI: 1.99–3, p value 0.013]. Furthermore, the number of iv t-PA eligible AIS patients was lower in phase 2 (48 vs 77), so the percentage of eligible patients receiving t-PA actually improved from 39% to 88%. There was no significant change in door to needle time. Conclusions: There was a significant increase in iv t-PA utilization during phase 2, without any change in patient demographics, inclusion or exclusion criteria, and with an actual reduction in iv t-PA eligible AIS patients. We believe this change occurred because the attending physician was present in the hospital to personally evaluate all AIS patients and therefore more likely to administer iv t-PA to eligible patients. Disclosure: Dr. Majeed has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cummings has nothing to disclose. Dr. Zand has nothing to disclose. Dr. Groody has nothing to disclose. Dr. Holland has nothing to disclose.
Open-source Longitudinal Sleep Analysis From Accelerometer Data (DPSleep): Algorithm Development and Validation

Background: Wearable devices are now widely available to collect continuous objective behavioral data from individuals and to measure sleep. Objective: This study aims to introduce a pipeline to infer sleep onset, duration, and quality from raw accelerometer data and then quantify the relationships between derived sleep metrics and other variables of interest. Methods: The pipeline released here for the deep phenotyping of sleep, as the DPSleep software package, uses a stepwise algorithm to detect missing data; within-individual, minute-based, spectral power percentiles of activity; and iterative, forward-and-backward–sliding windows to estimate the major Sleep Episode onset and offset. Software modules allow for manual quality control adjustment of the derived sleep features and correction for time zone changes. In this paper, we have illustrated the pipeline with data from participants studied for more than 200 days each. Results: Actigraphy-based measures of sleep duration were associated with self-reported sleep quality ratings. Simultaneous measures of smartphone use and GPS location data support the validity of the sleep timing inferences and reveal how phone measures of sleep timing can differ from actigraphy data. Conclusions: We discuss the use of DPSleep in relation to other available sleep estimation approaches and provide example use cases that include multi-dimensional, deep longitudinal phenotyping, extended measurement of dynamics associated with mental illness, and the possibility of combining wearable actigraphy and personal electronic device data (eg, smartphones and tablets) to measure individual differences across a wide range of behavioral variations in health and disease. A new open-source pipeline for deep phenotyping of sleep, DPSleep, analyzes raw accelerometer data from wearable devices and estimates sleep onset and offset while allowing for manual quality control adjustments.
Microextraction-based samplers for liquid and tissue analysis

Abstract This chapter describes microextraction methodologies that conveniently integrate sampling and extraction procedures for the analysis of organic compounds from tissues and liquid samples. Various geometries of microextraction devices are described together with the advantages that each of these configurations brings specific sampling approaches. Emphasis is also given to extraction materials and biocompatible binders that enable direct contact of the sampling devices with complex samples avoiding the occurrence of biofouling.
A VLSI Based Framework for Iterative and Adaptive Based Image Filter for Impulse Noise Removal

Implementation of noise removal filter in a VLSI domain is important. As VLSI domain is suitable for image processing applications and most of the image processors are now replaced with high performance FPGA. The inbuilt memory (Block RAM and distributed RAM) available in the FPGA fabric are utilized to store a pixel window of considerable size. In this paper the authors propose a VLSI based framework for efficient implementation of the Adaptive maximum pixel based Noise detector (APMAD) based filters. The histogram calculation of the image is efficiently carried out using the existing memory in the FPGA and using the “read first” property of the FPGA RAM, a single pixel requires two clocks for updating the histogram. As the proposed algorithm is adaptive and iterative, only FPGA with rich internal memory (RAM) should be chosen as the utilization of external memory will add additional latency. The proposed algorithm is simulated in FPGA (XILINX 12.2 ISIM) environment. Performance evaluation of noise detector are calculated in terms of PFP and PFN and quantitative evaluation of the filter are measured viz PSNR and MSE.