cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Student Perceptions of a Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics Camp Experience

“As the world becomes increasingly technological, the value of (the ideas and skills of its population) will be determined in no small measure by the effectiveness of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States” and “STEM education will determine whether the United States will remain a leader among nations and whether we will be able to solve immense challenges in such areas as energy, health, environmental protection, and national security” (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2010, p. vii). Research on the effectiveness of STEM-focused school and other learning experiences (e.g., short-term camps) on student attitudes and performance outcomes is sparse. In this study, we documented the influence of an intensive STEM summer program on high school students’ attitudes toward STEM concepts and interests in STEM careers. Attending the summer program was associated with gains on students’ attitudes toward some aspects of STEM as well as specific career interests. Notably, students reported statistically significant views of important aspects of STEM and their attitudes toward science and mathematics were more positive than their attitudes about engineering and technology.
Development of the Observable Behaviors of Autism Spectrum Disorder Scale.

The objective of this research was to develop a caregiver-reported clinical outcome assessment (COA) measure designed to assess observable behaviors of children, ages 4 to 12 years, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for supporting labeling claims of treatment benefit. Development of the measure included a review of the literature and existing instruments, conceptual disease model development, concept elicitation focus groups, item generation, and cognitive debriefing interviews. Predominant characteristics and behaviors of ASD identified by the literature and instrument reviews included sociability, communication deficits, stereotypy, inattention and hyperactivity, irritability, anxiety, and familial impact. In each of the 10 instruments reviewed, evidence of content validity was limited or nonexistent. Predominant themes arose across 8 major categories during concept elicitation. A total of 27 concepts were identified through focus group feedback and formed the basis for item development and cognitive pre-testing. Revisions to the items yielded a final version of a daily diary containing 21 items assessing observable behaviors and characteristics of ASD in children 4 to 12 years old. The Observable Behaviors of ASD Scale (OBAS) was developed as a self-administered, caregiver-reported measure containing 8 predominant themes. Items are scored on one of two 5-point ordinal categorical response scales, and the recall period for each item is “the past 24 hours.” This research provides evidence that the OBAS is content valid for assessing treatment benefit, which was found to be lacking in other instruments.
Effectiveness of surgical and non-surgical management of crouch gait in cerebral palsy: A systematic review.

Abstract Background Cerebral palsy (CP) is a prevalent group of neuromotor disorders caused by early injury to brain regions or pathways that control movement. Patients with CP exhibit a range of functional motor disabilities and pathologic gait patterns. Crouch gait, characterized by increased knee flexion throughout stance, is a common gait pattern in CP that increases energy costs of walking and contributes to ambulatory decline. Our aim was to perform the first systematic literature review on the effectiveness of interventions utilized to ameliorate crouch gait in CP. Methods Comprehensive searches of five medical databases yielded 38 papers with 30 focused on orthopaedic management. Results Evidence supports the use of initial hamstring lengthenings and rectus femoris transfers, where indicated, for improving objective gait measures with limited data on improving gait speed or gross motor function. In contrast, evidence argues against hamstring transfers and revision hamstring lengthening, with recent interest in more technically demanding corrective procedures. Only eight studies evaluated alternatives to surgery, specifically strength training, botulinum toxin or orthoses, with inconsistent and/or short-lived results. Conclusions Although crouch in CP is recognized clinically as a complex multi-joint, multi-planar gait disorder, this review largely failed to identify interventions beyond those which directly address sagittal plane knee motion, indicating a major knowledge gap. Quality of existing data was notably weak, with few studies properly controlled or adequately sized. Outcomes from specific procedures are confounded by multilevel surgeries. Successful longer term strategies to prevent worsening of crouch and subsequent functional decline are needed. Level of evidence Systematic review.
Anterior Surgical Treatment of Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Review Article

Background Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a common indication for cervical spine surgery. Surgical options include anterior, posterior, or combined procedures each with specific advantages and disadvantages.
Genetics of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) affects approximately 1 in 1000 US children. The cause of JIA is most likely multifactorial and due to an interplay of genetics and environmental factors. This article summarizes the known genetic risk factors for JIA that have been identified, and in some cases replicated, using a variety of methods, including genomewide association and candidate gene association studies. A brief discussion regarding pharmacogenomics and studies to data linking genetics to treatment response and outcomes is included.
Automated quasi-3D spine curvature quantification and classification

Scoliosis is a highly prevalent spine deformity that has traditionally been diagnosed through measurement of the Cobb angle on radiographs. More recent technology such as the commercial EOS imaging system, although more accurate, also require manual intervention for selecting the extremes of the vertebrae forming the Cobb angle. This results in a high degree of inter and intra observer error in determining the extent of spine deformity. Our primary focus is to eliminate the need for manual intervention by robustly quantifying the curvature of the spine in three dimensions, making it consistent across multiple observers. Given the vertebrae centroids, the proposed Vertebrae Sequence Angle (VSA) estimation and segmentation algorithm finds the largest angle between consecutive pairs of centroids within multiple inflection points on the curve. To exploit existing clinical diagnostic standards, the algorithm uses a quasi-3-dimensional approach considering the curvature in the coronal and sagittal projection planes of the spine. Experiments were performed with manuallyannotated ground-truth classification of publicly available, centroid-annotated CT spine datasets. This was compared with the results obtained from manual Cobb and Centroid angle estimation methods. Using the VSA, we then automatically classify the occurrence and the severity of spine curvature based on Lenke’s classification for idiopathic scoliosis. We observe that the results appear promising with a scoliotic angle lying within ± 9° of the Cobb and Centroid angle, and vertebrae positions differing by at the most one position. Our system also resulted in perfect classification of scoliotic from healthy spines with our dataset with six cases.
Reduced Lung Cancer Mortality With Lower Atmospheric Pressure.

Background:Research has shown that higher altitude is associated with lower risk of lung cancer and improved survival among patients. The current study assessed the influence of county-level atmospheric pressure (a measure reflecting both altitude and temperature) on age-adjusted lung cancer mortality rates in the contiguous United States, with 2 forms of spatial regression.Methods:Ordinary least squares regression and geographically weighted regression models were used to evaluate the impact of climate and other selected variables on lung cancer mortality, based on 2974 counties.Results:Atmospheric pressure was significantly positively associated with lung cancer mortality, after controlling for sunlight, precipitation, PM2.5 (µg/m3), current smoker, and other selected variables. Positive county-level β coefficient estimates (P < .05) for atmospheric pressure were observed throughout the United States, higher in the eastern half of the country.Conclusion:The spatial regression models showed that atmosphe...
The boundary layer in crossed-fields m.h.d.

This study of the boundary layer of steady, incompressible, plane, crossed-fields m.h.d. flow at large Reynolds number Re and magnetic Reynolds number Rm begins with a review of Hartmann's case, where a boundary layer occurs whose thickness is proportional to (Re Rm)−½. Following this clue, it is shown that in general the boundary layer is a ‘local Hartmann boundary layer’. Its profiles are always exponential and it is determined completely by local quantities. The skin friction and the total electric current in the layer are proportional to the square root of the magnetic Prandtl number, i.e. to (Rm/Re)½. Thus the exterior-flow problem, the solution of which precedes a boundary-layer solution, generally involves a current sheet at the fluid-solid interface.This inviscid-flow problem becomes tractable if (Rm/Re)½ is small enough to permit a linearized solution. The flow field about a flat plate at zero incidence is calculated in this approximation. It is pointed out that the thin-cylinder solutions of Sears & Resler (1959), which pertain to Rm/Re = 0, can immediately be extended to small, non-zero values of this parameter by linear combination with this flat-plate solution.
Design innovation guided by modeling assumptions

In this paper we propose a method for innovation in design based on relaxing modeling assumptions. A design process is innovative if it can expand the design space it searches beyond the space defined by the initial problem formulation. Typically, an engineering design problem is formalized as a set of constraints that must be met on various properties of the resulting design (e.g., weight), and an objective function on these properties to be optimized. The properties are defined by giving a set of equations for deriving them, and the parameters in these equations define the search space. However, these equations normally are simplified models of the general underlying physics, based on various assumptions (e.g., radial symmetry) about the artifact being modeled. We present a method of expanding the initial design space, when it does not contain any acceptable designs, by introducing new parameters, based on a process of relaxing the assumptions underlying the given models of the physical properties. Our technique rationalizes the Dimensional Variable Expansion approach to innovative design found in the literature, and generalizes it.
Diseases of the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

The esophagus and stomach are susceptible to a wide spectrum of abnormalities, including inflammatory diseases, ulcers, benign and malignant tumors, and other pathologic conditions. Whereas cross-sectional imaging has become increasingly important in modern radiology practice, barium studies (particularly double-contrast barium studies) continue to have a major role in the evaluation of patients with suspected upper gastrointestinal (GI) disease.
Die Kurbelgehäusematerialwahl während der frühen Konzeptphase der Motorenentwicklung

Im Motorenbau werden klassisch die beiden Kurbelgehausewerkstoffe Aluminium und Grauguss eingesetzt. Das Anliegen dieses Beitrages ist es, diese beiden Materialien eingehender in Bezug auf motorische Attributsmerkmale zu analysieren und zu erortern, inwieweit sie zukunftigen Anforderungen an moderne Motoren gerecht werden konnen. Speziell der Trend zum Down-Sizing von Ottomotoren und der damit einhergehenden hohen spezifischen Literleistung stellt hohe Anspruche an die Grundmotorarchitektur. Anhand von Unterschieden der motorischen Attributs- und Designmerkmale werden jeweilige Vor- und Nachteile erortert, verglichen und in einer gesamtheitlichen Betrachtungsweise bewertet. Es zeigt sich, das fur neue Motorgenerationen die jeweilige Entscheidung fur den Kurbelgehausewerkstoff individuell ausfallen kann und keine Verallgemeinerung zulast. Fur den neuen aufgeladenen, direkt- einspritzenden 1.0L Dreizylinder Ottomotors zeigt sich, das Grauguss als Kurbelgehausewerkstoff die vielversprechendere Wahl darstellt, um motorische Attributsmerkmale zu erfullen, und daruber hinaus noch ausreichendes Potential fur zukunftige Anforderungen bereithalt.
Limb Salvage for Veterans with Diabetes: To Care for Him Who Has Borne the Battle

Diabetes is a leading cause of nontraumatic lower limb amputations. Unfortunately, even with advances in medical management and surgical techniques, the 5-year rate of survival after lower limb amputation is poor. This article discusses the incidence of diabetes and its impact on the development of ulceration and lower limb amputation. This article also discusses the factors impacting wound healing, and the services provided by the Veterans Administration Hospital in Houston, Texas to help prevent lower limb amputation.
Healthcare charges and use in commercially insured children enrolled in managed care health plans in Washington State.

Objective: To determine the relative importance of enrollee, physician, medical group, and healthcare plan characteristics as determinants of healthcare use and expenditures in commercially insured children <18 years of age enrolled in managed care health plans. We focused on the effects of age and benefit level, the two most important predictors of cost and utilization in our study of adults. Methods: This study included 67,432 commercially insured children who were between 1 and 18 years of age, and were cared for by 790 primary care physicians, who practiced in 60 medical care groups in Washington State. Plan enrollment and utilization data for 1994 were linked to a survey of medical care groups contracting with three managed care health plans. Benefit level for each enrollee was defined as low, medium, or high and was based on cost sharing by the health plan for hospitalization, outpatient care, and emergency department services. The three outcome measures included estimated total per member per year charges, number of ambulatory visits, and hospital days. Results: In multivariate analysis, enrollee age was the most important determinant of total charges, with younger children incurring higher charges and utilization. For children 5 years and younger, mean total per member per year charges were $617 in the low-benefit category and $878 in the high category (p < .0001). These differences were less apparent for children 6–12 years ($355 versus $420, p = .012), and were not statistically significant for children 13 years and older ($503 versus $552, p = .14). The annual number of visits increased with benefit level for children of all ages. Conclusions: Enrollee age and benefit level were the most important determinants of healthcare use and expenditures in children enrolled in managed care health plans.
Communication and tracking system performance

Abstract Clear measurement and communication of real-time miner locations is critical in today's mining environment. This chapter describes a baseline deployment of a mesh-based tracking and communication system, then compares it to a predictive simulation model. Standard metrics used to describe the performance of both the physical baseline and the predictive simulation are defined. The baseline test site is a physical mine where the communication and tracking system is compliant with federal and state regulations. The comparison shows that predicted results exceeded measured results for most metric values. Variations in the comparison technique were evaluated for their impact on this outcome. It was determined that the method used for predicting the performance of a tracking system is in line with observed performance. More importantly, it was demonstrated using standardized metrics that predicted measures and observed values could both be used to describe a given tracking system because, in general, measured values and observed trends are similar.
Macrophage LRP1 Promotes Diet-Induced Hepatic Inflammation and Metabolic Dysfunction by Modulating Wnt Signaling.

Hepatic inflammation is associated with the development of insulin resistance, which can perpetuate the disease state and may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Despite recent advances, mechanisms linking hepatic inflammation and insulin resistance are still unclear. The low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) is a large endocytic and signaling receptor that is highly expressed in macrophages, adipocytes, hepatocytes, and vascular smooth muscle cells. To investigate the potential role of macrophage LRP1 in hepatic inflammation and insulin resistance, we conducted experiments using macrophage-specific LRP1-deficient mice (macLRP1−/−) generated on a low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout (LDLR−/−) background and fed a Western diet. LDLR−/−; macLRP1−/− mice gained less body weight and had improved glucose tolerance compared to LDLR−/− mice. Livers from LDLR−/−; macLRP1−/− mice displayed lower levels of gene expression for several inflammatory cytokines, including Ccl3, Ccl4, Ccl8, Ccr1, Ccr2, Cxcl9, and Tnf, and reduced phosphorylation of GSK3α and p38 MAPK proteins. Furthermore, LRP1-deficient peritoneal macrophages displayed altered cholesterol metabolism. Finally, circulating levels of sFRP-5, a potent anti-inflammatory adipokine that functions as a decoy receptor for Wnt5a, were elevated in LDLR−/−; macLRP1−/− mice. Surface plasmon resonance experiments revealed that sFRP-5 is a novel high affinity ligand for LRP1, revealing that LRP1 regulates levels of this inhibitor of Wnt5a-mediated signaling. Collectively, our results suggest that LRP1 expression in macrophages promotes hepatic inflammation and the development of glucose intolerance and insulin resistance by modulating Wnt signaling.
Safety of Biologic Therapy in Older Patients With Immune-Mediated Diseases: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background & Aims Management of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases often requires lifelong immunosuppression. Increasing numbers of older patients have inflammatory diseases and are particularly vulnerable to risks of immune suppressive therapies—particularly infections and malignancies. Methods We systematically searched PubMed/Medline and Embase to identify eligible studies that examined the safety of biologic therapies in older patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis). Included studies provided information on patients who began receiving therapy with a biologic agent when they were older than 60 years and a control population (either younger users of biologics or older patients who did not use biologics). Information of on overall pooled rates of infections, malignancy, and mortality were extracted. A DerSimonian and Laird random effects model was used to calculate pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs. Results Our meta-analysis included 14 unique studies that comprised 4719 older users of biologics, 13,305 younger users of biologics, and 3961 older patients who did not use biologics. The pooled prevalence of infections in older and younger users of biologics was 13% and 6% respectively, yielding a pooled random effects odds ratio of 2.28 (95% CI, 1.57–3.31). Older age was associated with a significant increase in risk of malignancy (OR, 3.07; 95% CI, 1.98–4.62) compared to younger age. Older users of biologics had a 3-fold increase in risk of infection compared to patients who did not use biologics (OR, 3.60; 95% CI, 1.62–8.01), but there were no significant differences in odds of malignancy (0.54, 95% CI, 0.28–1.05) or death (OR, 1.52; 95% CI, 0.44–5.28) compared to older patients who did not use biologics. Conclusion In a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies on the safety of biologic therapies in older patients with inflammatory diseases, we found that older users of biologic agents have an increased risk of infections compared with younger users or older patients who do not use biologics. Large, prospective cohort studies are needed to examine safety of biologic therapy in older patients with immune-mediated diseases
Inappropriately Firing Defibrillator: A Simulation Case for Emergency Medicine Residents.

Introduction Emergency physicians must be able to manage inappropriately firing defibrillators. Many physicians may not experience this high-risk, low-frequency patient presentation during residenc...
Please Sign Here (And Share It To Your Facebook and Twitter Feeds): Online Petitions and Inventing for Circulation

Abstract The continued use of digital platforms to foster civic engagement efforts offers us the opportunity to examine the complexities of invention, circulation, and genre in a networked world. Online petitions, with a rich history and widespread usage, are a sustained and valuable mode of citizen engagement that deserves closer examination. This article delves into the creation and distribution process of online petitions by examining the creation interface for MoveOn Petitions in order to better understand how users might compose civic texts subject to high levels of circulation. Since petitions are designed for (and depend on) high levels of distribution and subsequently, circulation, they offer us the opportunity to identify markers of circulation (signatures, likes, comments, etc.) and audience reception. Additionally, MoveOn Petitions’ creation templates forward issues of genre, audience, and circulation, illustrating a clear linkage between invention and delivery in digital arenas. Online petitions are a unique genre that we, along with our students, can examine more closely to better understand the nuances of digital, public, participatory writing.
2033 - REPLICATION STRESS MEDIATED CHECKPOINT ACTIVATION DURING PHYSIOLOGIC HSC EXPANSION IN THE FETAL LIVER LEADS TO HEMATOPOIETIC DEFICITS IN FANCONI ANEMIA

Fanconi Anemia (FA) patients show depletion of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) pools early in life, the onset and pathophysiology of which remain to be clarified. While HSC from FA mice generally show no unprovoked bone marrow failure, we and others observed spontaneous fetal HSC deficits in Fancc- and Fancd2- KO littermates. This affords a unique opportunity to explore the physiologic basis of hematopoietic failure in FA in utero. Here, we find that differences in HSC frequency between WT and KO specifically emerge due to a lack of physiologic expansion in the fetal liver (FL) between E12.5 and 14.5, and not as a result of apoptotic loss seen in adult FA HSCs. We undertook detailed cell cycle studies using a sequential EdU-BrdU pulse chase technique and showed a delay in G1/S phase transition and S-phase progression in Fancd2 FL cells. We then confirmed an underlying Replication Stress (RS) response, via alkaline comet assays, increased replication associated protein p-Rpa expression and activation p-Chk1. This cell cycle checkpoint activation further coincided with nuclear localization of p21, a known negative cell cycle regulator, but not p53 phosphorylation. TGF-b compromises adult FA HSC function, and is a critical developmental morphogen that regulates p21 activity. Here, pharmacological inhibition of TGF-b signaling in FA FL HSC provided functional rescue of myeloid progenitors as well as reversal of p21 translocation in FA. Intriguingly, expression of Chk1 under these circumstances was increased. Thus, TGF-b signaling acts as a rheostat for p21 activity and progenitor clonogenicity, albeit at the cost of increasing RS and Chk1 phosphorylation. Our data in show for the first time that FA HSC are vulnerable to RS during physiologic expansion in the FL, which acts as a principal constraint on HSC pool formation and origin of hematopoietic failure in FA.
Analysis of Gas Phase Clusters Made from Laser-Vaporized Icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn

Laser vaporization of an icosahedral Al-Pd-Mn sample with detection by time-of-flight mass spectrometry is used to probe metal clusters made from the alloy. After sample vaporization, clusters form by gas aggregation and may contain several to hundreds of atoms. Multi-photon ionization/fragmentation of these clusters yields mass spectra showing many cluster sizes with enhanced intensity. Clusters are identified at masses near those of pseudo- Mackay and Bergman clusters; however, these clusters do not appear special relative to neighboring clusters. Results of this study and its relationship to the proposed cluster structures in quasicrystalline materials are discussed.
Clinical Outcomes and Characteristics With Dofetilide in Atrial Fibrillation Patients Considered for Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator.

Background: Dofetilide is one of the only anti-arrhythmic agents approved for atrial fibrillation (AF) in patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, postapproval data...
Using Elements of a Screenplay to Promote Visualization and Increase Reading Comprehension in Secondary Students with High Incidence Disabilities.

The 2017 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) findings indicate that only 37% of the nation’s twelfth graders are at or above proficiency in reading and the average reading score for st...
The Effects of Personal Pharmacogenetic Testing on the Effects of Pharmacy Student Perceptions of Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Precision Medicine

Objective: To evaluate if pharmacy students participation in personal pharmacogenetic (Pgx) testing enhances their knowledge and attitude towards precision medicine (PM). Methods: First-year pharmacy students were offered personalized pharmacogenetic testing as a supplement to a required curricular pharmacogenomics course. Ninety-eight of 122 (80%) students completed pre- and post-course surveys assessing knowledge and attitudes regarding PM; 73 students also volunteered for personal pharmacogenetic testing of the following drug metabolizing enzymes (CYP2C19, CYP2D6, UGT1A1) and pharmacodynamics-relevant proteins (interleukin (IL)-28B & human lymphocyte antigen HLAB*5701). Results: Among the 122 students, we found that incorporating pharmacogenetic testing improved mean knowledge and attitude by 1.0 and 0.3 Likert points, respectively. We observed statistically significant improvements in 100% of knowledge and 70% of attitude-related statements for students who decided to undergo personal pharmacogenetic testing. Students who were enrolled in the course but did not partake in personalized pharmacogenetic testing had similar gains in knowledge and attitude. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the feasibility and importance of educating future pharmacists by incorporating pharmacogenetic testing into professional school curricula. Students who opt not to participate in genotyping may still benefit by learning vicariously through the shared learning environment created by genotyped students.
Abstract PO-061: The role of Cathepsin E expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumorigenesis

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has a dismal 5-year survival rate of 10% due to a lack of early detection and effective treatments. Aspartic protease Cathepsin E (CTSE) expression is increased early in PDAC, but its role in tumorigenesis is unknown. We hypothesize that high CTSE expression promotes proliferation, invasion, inhibition of apoptosis, and the secretion of cancer-associated cytokines in PDAC. Methods: Human PDAC cell lines (Mpanc96, Panc-1, and Miapaca2) were engineered to express high levels of CTSE. Cell proliferation, invasion, and apoptosis were analyzed and compared to control cell lines expressing low levels of CTSE. Cells were treated with aspartic protease inhibitors (Pepstatin A and Ritonavir) and monitored for proliferation (24 - 72 hours) and invasion (48 hours). Apoptosis was measured using propidium iodide and analyzed via flow cytometry. Conditioned media from cells was collected (72 hours) after treatment to assess differential secretion of cancer-associated cytokines using a cytokine array. Results: Proliferation was not affected by the overexpression of CTSE; however, inhibition of CTSE slowed proliferation in the Panc-1 and MiaPaca2, but not Mpanc96 cells. CTSE inhibitors promoted invasion of Mpanc96 and Panc-1, but not Miapaca2 cells, regardless of CTSE levels. Apoptosis was not significantly different between the cell lines treated with the aspartic protease inhibitors compared to controls. Increased expression of CTSE induced the secretion of various cytokines such as epithelial neutrophil-activating protein 78 (ENA-78), a chemokine expressed in inflammatory pancreatic disorders. Treatment with the inhibitor Pepstatin A decreased ENA-78 secretion. Conclusions: CTSE levels does not appear to affect proliferation or apoptosis; however, inhibition of CTSE increased cell invasion and resulted in altered cytokine secretion. Further studies examining how CTSE influences invasiveness, and cytokine secretion may create new opportunities for developing effective therapies for PDAC. Citation Format: Ericka Velez-Bonet, Sabrina Kaul, Corbin Pontious, Marcus Hong, Kelly Dubai, Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate. The role of Cathepsin E expression in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumorigenesis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2020 Sep 29-30. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-061.
Parasites and pesticides act antagonistically on honey bee health

Pesticides and parasites have each been linked to increased mortality in western honey bees (Apis mellifera). Currently, it is uncertain if one makes the other worse; several studies have tested for potential synergistic stressor effects, but results have been mixed. Here, we use a hierarchical meta‐analysis of 63 experiments from 26 studies to gain a clearer view of the combined effects of parasites and pesticides on honey bee health. We found that combined pesticide–parasite treatments do tend to be deadlier than uncombined treatments but are significantly less deadly than predicted additive or multiplicative effects. In other words, combined treatment effects are not synergistic, but antagonistic. Much of the previous uncertainty about the combined effects of pesticides and parasites on honey bee health can be attributed to a bias in the previous research against stressor antagonism; many researchers have excluded the possibility of antagonism a priori. Synthesis and applications. Meta‐analysis shows that when honey bees are stressed by a combination of pesticides and parasites, the combined stress effect is antagonistic, that is, less than the sum of its parts. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying this antagonism could prove critical for effective management of honey bee health.
Clinical characteristics of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the United States: A literature review.

Background and objectives: Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is a rapidly progressive and potentially fatal tickborne disease caused by Rickettsia rickettsii. Despite current recommendations and information on the severity of RMSF, studies show that delayed recognition and treatment continues to occur. Methods: A literature search was performed on cases published in English between 1990–2017. The frequencies for demographic, clinical, and treatment variables was calculated. Results: A total of 340 cases from 34 articles were included. Data on rash were available for 322 patients, and 261 (80%) noted rash. Mortality was 4% (2) in those who received doxycycline within the first five days of illness, and 35% (18) when treatment was delayed beyond Day five. Twenty-four (16%) reported chronic sequelae, including speech impairment (7, 5%) and ataxia (5, 3%). Interpretation and conclusion: These data highlight the importance of early treatment, and add to our understanding of long-term sequelae. Early recognition by providers will facilitate appropriate treatment and reduction in morbidity and mortality.
Leave no one behind: COVID-19 and its impact on childcare and education in urban areas

The United Nations Leave No One Behind, A Call-to-Action pledges and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are the formulating structure of this article. The commitments are documents to...
Multidimensional time-of-flight spectroscopy.

Experimental methods based on a wide range of physical principles are used to determine carrier mobilities for light-harvesting materials in photovoltaic cells. For example, in a time-of-flight experiment, a single laser pulse photoexcites the active layer of a device, and the transit time is determined by the arrival of carriers at an acceptor electrode. With inspiration from this conventional approach, we present a multidimensional time-of-flight technique in which carrier transport is tracked with a second intervening laser pulse. Transient populations of separate material components of an active layer may then be established by tuning the wavelengths of the laser pulses into their respective electronic resonances. This experimental technique is demonstrated using photovoltaic cells based on mixtures of organohalide perovskite quantum wells. In these “layered perovskite” systems, charge carriers are funneled between quantum wells with different thicknesses because of staggered band alignments. Multidimensional time-of-flight measurements show that these funneling processes do not support long-range transport because of carrier trapping. Rather, our data suggest that the photocurrent is dominated by processes in which the phases of the thickest quantum wells absorb light and transport carriers without transitions into domains occupied by quantum wells with smaller sizes. These same conclusions cannot be drawn using conventional one-dimensional techniques for measuring carrier mobilities. Advantages and disadvantages of multidimensional time-of-flight experiments are discussed in the context of a model for the signal generation mechanism.
Bifunctional Asymmetric Fabric with Tailored Thermal Conduction and Radiation for Personal Cooling and Warming

Abstract Personal thermal management is emerging as a promising strategy to provide thermal comfort for the human body while conserving energy. By improving control over the heat dissipating from the human body, personal thermal management can provide effective personal cooling and warming. Here, we propose a facile surface modification approach to tailor the thermal conduction and radiation properties based on commercially available fabric, to realize better management of the whole heat transport pathway from the human body to the ambient. A bifunctional asymmetric fabric (BAF) offering both a cooling and a warming effect is demonstrated. Due to the advantages of roughness asymmetry and surface modification, the BAF demonstrates an effective cooling effect through enhanced heat conduction and radiation in the cooling mode; in the warming mode, heat dissipation along both routes is reduced for personal warming. As a result, a 4.6 °C skin temperature difference is measured between the cooling and warming BAF modes, indicating that the thermal comfort zone of the human body can be enlarged with one piece of BAF clothing. We expect this work to present new insights for the design of personal thermal management textiles as well as a novel solution for the facile modification of available fabrics for both personal cooling and warming.
Evaluation of a CONUS-wide ECOSTRESS DisALEXI evapotranspiration product

The Atmosphere-Land Exchange Inverse disaggregation (DisALEXI) algorithm is a multi-scale energy balance model that estimates evapotranspiration (ET) using land-surface temperature (LST) as a driving remote sensing input. Using LST products from ECOSTRESS, a thermal radiometer mounted on the International Space Station, DisALEXI ET products have been produced over the contiguous United States (CONUS) at 70 m resolution. The goal of this study is to demonstrate the accuracy of the CONUS-wide ET produced by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and to compare the results with the original DisALEXI ET produced by researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). DisALEXI-USDA has been produced ad-hoc using Landsat LST, and is routinely produced over six target sites using ECOSTRESS LST. DisALEXI-JPL was implemented in order to expand the spatial coverage. DisALEXI-JPL was evaluated at 26 CONUS eddy covariance sites, showing good correlation, with R2 = 0.80 and RMSE = 0.81 mm/day, which is comparable to previous DisALEXI validation studies (RMSE ~1 mm/day). The two DisALEXI implementations compared well, with R2 = 0.92. This work evaluates DisALEXI-JPL and shows that the algorithm is valid over a larger segment of CONUS. We also show the impact of quality flags, as pixels with high view zenith angles or high aerosol optical depth showed greater deviation from field measurements. As a product demonstration, we show a regional map of fine-scale ET, where the fine-scale variation over wider areas can detect small areas of stress much sooner than products with coarse resolution representing average conditions.
Brady Reconstructed: An Overdue Expansion of Rights and Remedies

Over fifty years ago, the Supreme Court held in Brady v Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), that the Due Process Clause requires prosecutors to disclose materially favorable evidence to the defense. The Brady Court emphasized the need to treat all defendants fairly and to provide each accused with a meaningful opportunity to present a defense. While Brady held great promise for defendants to receive fundamentally fair access to evidence, the subsequent decisions of the Court have fallen short of meeting this promise.Since Brady, the Court has limited the disclosure obligation by failing to separately determine rights and remedies. Additionally, in cases involving access to evidence that is not Brady material, the Court has required the defendant to demonstrate that the government withheld the evidence in bad faith. The Court’s commingling of rights and remedies, along with its insertion of a bad faith requirement, has made it nearly impossible for defendants to succeed on due process challenges to the government’s failure to preserve evidence or to provide evidence to the defense for examination and testing.The Court’s access to evidence jurisprudence has stagnated for decades. During this time, much has changed. DNA testing has become a powerful exculpatory tool for the defense. Additionally, in recent years, the scientific community and the Court have recognized the potential for error on the part of government forensic scientists due to incompetence or bias.This article provides a framework of analysis for access to evidence rights and remedies issues. It then applies that framework to advocate the necessary long overdue expanded due process protections that the Court should recognize.
Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases

Publisher Summary The MAPK family is involved in a broad range of cellular responses and has been implicated in a number of human pathologies. While the core components of the system are simply protein kinases, the mechanisms in which they affect a cellular response are diverse. In mammals, there are three major and distinct MAPK modules: extracellular regulated kinase (ERK), SAPK/JNK, and p38 MAPK. There is potentially a fourth module, ERK5, but the relative dearth of tools and reagents has left this potential module less well characterized. MAPKs are not just links that passively hand-off the message they receive to the next component in the system. Timing, localization, activity, and cross-regulation all affect the final outcome, and this often determines the fate of the cell through changes in transcription, protein synthesis, and survival. The core MAPK pathway components are often adapted through the use of localization scaffolds, and sequestered into proximity with other molecules to allow preferential or selective activation of specific targets. The p38 MAPK pathway also responds to various stress stimuli, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and inflammatory cytokines, and is sometimes known as SAPK2. In addition to inflammation and stress, p38 also plays a role in skeletal muscle differentiation. Due to its strong linkage to inflammation, significant effort has been made to determine the role of p38 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory pulmonary disease.
Adaptive beamforming in the spectral domain

The adaptive array process is cast into a constrained optimization problem in the spectral domain. Basically, the process allows the array to maintain constant gain in a desired look-direction while simultaneously rejecting undersired interference. The solution to the problem leads to two versions of a "spectral-domain constrained least-mean-squares" (SD-CLMS) iterative algorithm. Convergence considerations lead to optimization of the algorithm in the noiseless case. Smoothing techniques are recommended for the noisy case. A numerical example is included.
THE REDUCTION OF COLLISION INJURIES: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

THIS PAPER REPRESENTS A DISTILLATION AND ANALYSIS OF COLLISION INJURY CASES COLLECTED BY THE UCLA TRAUMA RESEARCH GROUP FROM 1960-69. INJURIES ARE INTERPRETED WITH RELATION TO SPECIFIC VARIABLES WHICH ARE THOUGHT TO REPRESENT IMPORTANT FACTORS IN COLLISION INJURY CAUSATION AND PREVENTION. THE METHODOLOGY IS PRESENTED AS ONE POSSIBLE WAY TO VIEW TRANSPORTATION TRAUMA IN TERMS OF FACTORS WHICH CAN BE ISOLATED AND MAY LEND THEMSELVES TO MANIPULATION IN THE CAUSE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY. THE PAPER CONCENTRATES ON SURVIVABLE INJURIES, IN PART BECAUSE MEASUREMENT OF DEATH ALONE FAILS TO INDICATE DEGREES OF INJURY SEVERITY, AND ALSO BECAUSE DEATH RATES HAVE PROVEN TO BE INSENSITIVE TO MAJOR CHANGES IN INJURY CAUSATION. THE SECOND PART OF THIS PAPER ATTEMPTS TO RELATE INJURY RATES TO ANATOMIC DISTRIBUTION, SPECIFIC AREAS OF VEHICLE DESIGN, AND DISTRIBUTION OF INJURY SEVERITIES FOR SELECTION GROUPS OF SEAT LOCATIONS. /AUTHOR/
Acute Cardiovascular Toxicity of Low‐Dose Intrathecal Ziconotide

Dear Editor, Ziconotide, marketed in the United States as Prialt® (Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Dublin, Ireland), is the first in a new class of non-opioid pain medication targeting N-type voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) approved after a series of landmark clinical trials in the 1990s ⇓. Due to its limited bioavailability in the central nervous system (CNS), it is primarily administered via chronically implanted intrathecal (i.t.) pump. Ziconotide has a number of dose-limiting side effects, typically neurological or psychiatric symptoms. Here, we report a case where a remarkably short, low-dose exposure to i.t. ziconotide produced severe cardiovascular and neurological impairment reversing over the course of 24 hours. Patient SK, a 42-year-old man, had a 3.5-year history of lower extremity complex regional pain syndrome type I when he presented for an i.t. ziconotide trial, having failed standard opioid analgesics, antineuropathics, epidural injections, lumbar sympathetic blocks, and a spinal cord stimulator trial. His medical history was significant for severe obesity (body mass index = 39.5), hypertension, major depressive disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea. He had sustained moderate trauma to his left foot from a falling object in a store, followed by progressive allodynia, hyperesthesia, and hyperalgesia, originating in the left foot and ultimately affecting his entire left side including …
Tighter Bounds for Facility Games

In one dimensional facility games, public facilities are placed based on the reported locations of the agents, where all the locations of agents and facilities are on a real line. The cost of an agent is measured by the distance from its location to the nearest facility. We study the approximation ratio of social welfare for strategy-proof mechanisms, where no agent can benefit by misreporting its location. In this paper, we use the total cost of agents as social welfare function. We study two extensions of the simplest version as in [9]: two facilities and multiple locations per agent. In both cases, we analyze randomized strategy-proof mechanisms, and give the first lower bound of 1.045 and 1.33, respectively. The latter lower bound is obtained by solving a related linear programming problem, and we believe that this new technique of proving lower bounds for randomized mechanisms may find applications in other problems and is of independent interest. We also improve several approximation bounds in [9], and confirm a conjecture in [9].
Hydroxy, carboxylic and amino acid functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles: Synthesis, characterization and in vitro anti-cancer studies

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by simple co-precipitation method and modified with different coating agents such as ascorbic acid, hexanoic acid, salicylic acid, L-arginine and L-cysteine. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by various techniques such as FT IR, XRD, VSM, SEM, TEM and thermal analysis. Both bare and coated magnetites were of cubic spinel structure and spherical in shape. All the magnetite nanoparticles showed superparamagnetic behaviour with high saturated magnetization. In vitro cytotoxicity test of bare and coated nanoparticles was performed using adenocarcinoma cells, A549. Cell viability of bare and L-arginine coated magnetite nanoparticles showed IC50 value of 31.2 μg/mL proving the compatibility of nanocarriers when compared to others. Hence, L-arginine coated nanoparticles were used for loading the drug paclitaxel and the observed IC50 value (7.8 μg/mL) shows its potent anti-proliferative effect against A549 lung cancer cell lines. Thus, it can be speculated that the drug paclitaxel loaded L-arginine coated nanoparticles could be used as an effective drug carrier for the destruction of cancer cells.
Sawtooth‐substorm connections: A closer look

[1] This paper seeks to improve understanding of sawtooth events (STEs) that occur during the main phases of geomagnetic storms. We consider the dynamics of diverse space environments encountered during a magnetic storm on 24 March 2002 when four STEs were identified in energetic particle fluxes measured by Synchronous Orbit Particle Analyzers on Los Alamos National Laboratory satellites. Over the reported interval, 28 substorms were identified in magnetometer traces obtained via the SuperMAG international collaboration. Magnetic inclination variations sampled by the Geostationary Operational Environment Satellites 8 and 10 on the nightside indicate that STEs coincided with substorms marked by strong and prolonged dipolarizations. Significantly, the four STEs were accompanied by partial recoveries of the SYM-H index. Two SuperMAG substorms were marked by weak dipolarizations and energetic particle flux increases. The remaining 22 substorms showed no such signatures near 6.6 RE. We regard the latter SuperMAG events as indicating intensifications of the DP 2 current system driven by episodically enhanced reconnection at the distant X line. Presented data are shown to be consistent with the conjecture of Huang et al. (2009) that STEs occur only after open flux in the magnetotail exceeds a critical level near 109 Wb. During STEs, significant quantities of open flux were removed from the magnetotail at near-Earth reconnection lines. It took ~3 h to eject plasmoids and replenish open flux in the magnetotail to a critical level via continued dayside merging, thereby driving quasi-cyclic STE occurrences.
Blog-based nutrition education intervention for college students (626.10)

Transition between adolescence and adulthood, college students frequently experienced dramatic weight gain. A web-based nutrition program could potentially be used to provide nutrition information ...