cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Agonist-induced internalization and mitogen-activated protein kinase activation of the human prostaglandin EP4 receptor

We examined the pathway of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2)-induced internalization of the prostaglandin EP4 receptor in HEK 293 cells. Co-expression of dominant negative β-arrestin (319–418) or dynamin I (K44A) with the EP4 receptor reduced internalization. The activated receptor co-localized with GFP-arrestin 2 and GFP-arrestin 3, confirming the requirement for β-arrestins in internalization. Inhibition of clathrin-coated vesicle-mediated internalization resulted in inhibition of sequestration, whereas inhibition of caveola-mediated internalization had no effect. PGE2 stimulation of the EP4 receptor resulted in rapid mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation. Examination of an internalization-resistant mutant and co-expression of mutant accessory proteins with EP4 revealed that MAP kinase activation proceeds independently of internalization.
Predictors of poor outcomes in functionally dependent patients undergoing ventral hernia repair

Background Preoperative functional health status has been shown previously to affect outcomes following ventral hernia repair. The objective of this study was to identify specific factors that contribute to morbidity and mortality in functionally dependent patients who undergo elective ventral hernia repair.
Rotationally-resolved spectroscopy of the donor bending mode of (D2O)2.

High-resolution spectra of the intramolecular bending modes of deuterated water dimer, (D2O)2, have been measured using a quantum cascade laser based cavity ringdown spectrometer. Two perpendicular bands have been observed and are assigned as the Ka =1 ← 0 and Ka =2 ← 1 bands of the bending mode of the hydrogen bond donor. The tunneling splittings in the complex are well-resolved, and it is found that excitation of the donor bend has little effect on tunneling of the hydrogen bond acceptor, but causes significant perturba- tions on the tunneling motion which exchanges the roles of hydrogen bond donor and acceptor. The presence of this perturbation has prevented a detailed assignment of the tunneling levels in the excited state at this time. An accurate value for the band center of the donor bend is calculated to be 1182.2 cm −1 , which is in good agreement with previous theoretical calculations performed on an ab initio potential energy surface.
Impact of Case Mix Severity on Quality Improvement in a Patient-centered Medical Home (PCMH) in the Maryland Multi-Payor Program

Background: We present data on quality of care (QC) improvement in 35 of 45 National Quality Forum metrics reported annually by 52 primary care practices recognized as patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) that participated in the Maryland Multi-Payor Program from 2011 to 2013. Methods: We assigned QC metrics to (1) chronic, (2) preventive, and (3) mental health care domains. The study used a panel data design with no control group. Using longitudinal fixed-effects regressions, we modeled QC and case mix severity in a PCMH. Results: Overall, 35 of 45 quality metrics reported by 52 PCMHs demonstrated improvement over 3 years, and case mix severity did not affect the achievement of quality improvement. From 2011 to 2012, QC increased by 0.14 (P Conclusions: The gains in QC in the chronic disease domain, the preventive care domain, and, most significantly, the mental health care domain were observed over time regardless of patient case mix severity. QC improvement was generally not modified by practice characteristics, except for rurality.
Transient Analysis of Bernoulli Serial Line with Perishable Products

Abstract Manufacturing systems with perishable products are widely observed in practice. In such systems, the quality of the product is highly affected by the time waiting for the next operation, i.e., the residence time of intermediate parts within the system. The parts that reach the maximum allowable residence time need to be scrapped, thus impeding the production. To study such systems, transient analysis is needed. In this paper, a two-machine Bernoulli serial line model with finite buffer and perishable products is presented to analyze the transient behavior. Analytical formulas are derived and the accuracy is justified numerically.
Like a cat on a hot tin roof: the microbiome of solar panels

, © Bik This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and redistribution in any medium, provided that the original author and source are credited. When we think of the built environment, we usually only include the indoor surfaces and air. A new study (preprint) posted last week on BioRxiv went through the roof, and looked at the microbes living on solar panels.
Effect of Space Environment on Taste Quality of Japonica Rice

The effect of space environment on quality of japonica rice was identified based on the seeds flown on the 22nd satellite and the stable lines derived from three rice varieties flown on Shijian-8 satellite.The protein content,amylose content and taste value of the mutational lines and the control varieties were determined.The results indicated that mutational lines,compared with the control varieties,have obvious change in protein content and amylose content.Protein content in the offspring of induced varieties was higher than that in control.There were less low hardness lines in the offspring of low hardness varieties induced by space environment,compared with the control,while the offspring of poor taste or the high hardness varieties induced have more super-parents phenomena.Their taste and hardness reduced significantly.The taste value could be improved by space mutation and there were more chances to select good eating quality rice when poor taste value varieties were induced.
Experimental Study on Mixed Combustion of Shenhua Coal with Huolinhe Lignite in a 1 000 MW Power Unit

An experimental study was carried out on the mixed combustion of Shenhua coal with Huolinhe lignite in a 1 000 MW power plant,so as to analyze the effect of blending ratio on the maximum mill output,maximum unit output and the unit performance.Combustion optimization tests were performed at an optimal blending ratio,during which problems that may be produced by blending lignite were proposed,while corresponding countermeasures suggested.Results show that the maximum mill output reduces gradually with rising blending ratio of lignite;the effect will be obvious especially when the ratio gets above 40%;the optimal blending ratio of lignite is 30% under the test conditions,in which case the optimal bias of oxygen at outlet of economizer is +0.4,and the optimal bias of baffle opening for over-fire air is-10% at rated load.Based on combustion adjustment,the coking problems occurring on boiler rear wall due to mixed combustion with lignite has basically been solved,with a 0.07% increase of boiler efficiency and a NOx emission of 293.2 mg/m3.
Cardiac rhythm following exclusion of the sinoatrial node and most of the right atrium from the remainder of the heart.

In this study two surgical interventions on the right atrium were followed by long-term observation of their effect on the cardiac rhythm. In the first, the sinoatrial (SA) node and a small area of surrounding atrium were excluded from the heart by a circumferential incision. This was followed immediately by an unstable junctional rhythm accompanied by periods of pacemaker arrest. After 14 days a rhythm, indistinguishable from sinus rhythm, became permanently established. On atrial mapping the area of earliest epicardial breakthrough was the low right atrium, indicating that the pacemaker was in this area. In the second procedure, most of the right atrium including the SA node was excluded by an incision from the remainder of the heart, but left in continuity were the left atrium, right atrium in the area about the cornary sinus and inferior vena caval ostium and the atrial septum (areas where the low atrial pacemakers are known to occur), and the ventricles. A permanent junctional rhythm associated with periods of pacemaker arrest was produced. In two dogs permanent atrial fibrillation eventually developed. The area of earliest breakthrough found on epicardial mapping was to the right of the right inferior pulmonary vein, close to the atrial septum. One of the differences between the two interventions was the amount of right atrium remaining between the potential low atrial pacemakers and the atrioventricular (AV) node. It is suggested that summation, a factor needed for the atrial excitation wave to penetrate the AV node, was inadequate in the more extensive intervention. This may explain the failure of a potential low atrial pacemaker to become dominant in the second intervention. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.
Interpersonal Relationships in Psychiatric Nursing

The crucial elements in nursing situations are obviously the nurse, the patient, and what goes on between them. Although there are of course other elements in nursing situations, it is useful for learning purposes to scrutinize carefully what goes on between the nurse (as a person) and one patient with whom the nurse has continuing contacts. If you learn well what the interpersonal relations are like in this basic unit of interaction, the learning can be generalized to other relationships between nurses and patients. These three crucial elements appear deceptively simple. Both the nurse and the patient are human persons with all of the characteristically human experiences that go on intrapersonally in each one of us—thoughts, feelings, and actions. Each one of us experiences interacting expectations, preconceptions, wishes, and desires, as well as feelings when we are in situations with other persons. It is the interaction of the thoughts, feelings, and actions of nurses and patients that constitutes what goes on between them. There is, therefore, a need to be able to characterize the quality of the interaction.
Behavioral manipulation of rats causes alterations in opiate receptor occupancy

The notion that about half of the opiate receptors of rat brain are associated with endogenous ligand even after extensive washing of brain membranes at 0 °C explains a number of observations: if brain membranes are subjected to a preliminary incubation at 37 °C, subsequent binding of [3H] opiates is approximately doubled, the assumption being that the endogenous ligand, by dissociating much more rapidly at the higher incubation temperature, makes additional opiate receptor sites available for binding (Pasternak et al., 1975a, b). If sodium chloride is included in the preincubation medium—even at 0 °C—the subsequent binding of [3H] opiates is similarly increased (Simantov et al., 1976). The agonist dihydromorphine, has been shown to dissociate from opiate receptors about three times more rapidly in the presence of sodium ion at 0 °C (Pert and Snyder, 1974), and the assumption is that sodium ion also speeds up the dissociation of the endogenous opiate agonist. In other experiments, membrane preparations from rats injected with low doses of opiate antagonists or high doses of opiate agonists show almost twice as much [3H] opiate binding after extensive washing at 0 °C than saline-injected controls. If the assay is conducted in the presence of sodium, however, the control membrane preparations become elevated to the level of the membranes from opiate-injected rats so that a significant difference between the two is no longer apparent (Pert and Snyder, 1976). These findings can be explained if the opiate alkaloids displace some of the endogenous ligand from opiate receptors in vivo and the remaining endogenous ligand (except in the presence of sodium ion) dissociates much more slowly from opiate receptors during membrane preparation than the opiate alkaloids.
Secure Integration of Web Content and Applications on Commodity Mobile Operating Systems

A majority of today's mobile apps integrate web content of various kinds. Unfortunately, the interactions between app code and web content expose new attack vectors: a malicious app can subvert its embedded web content to steal user secrets; on the other hand, malicious web content can use the privileges of its embedding app to exfiltrate sensitive information such as the user's location and contacts. In this paper, we discuss security weaknesses of the interface between app code and web content through attacks, then introduce defenses that can be deployed without modifying the OS. Our defenses feature WIREframe, a service that securely embeds and renders external web content in Android apps, and in turn, prevents attacks between em- bedded web and host apps. WIREframe fully mediates the interface between app code and embedded web content. Un- like the existing web-embedding mechanisms, WIREframe allows both apps and embedded web content to define simple access policies to protect their own resources. These policies recognize fine-grained security principals, such as origins, and control all interactions between apps and the web. We also introduce WIRE (Web Isolation Rewriting Engine), an offline app rewriting tool that allows app users to inject WIREframe protections into existing apps. Our evaluation, based on 7166 popular apps and 20 specially selected apps, shows these techniques work on complex apps and incur acceptable end-to-end performance overhead.
When Do Honors Programs Make the Grade? Conditional Effects on College Satisfaction, Achievement, Retention, and Graduation

Many people within and outside of higher education view honors programs as providing meaningful academic experiences that promote learning and growth for high-achieving students. To date, the research exploring the link between honors participation and college grades and retention has obtained mixed results; some of the seemingly conflicting findings may stem from the presence of methodological limitations, including the difficulty with adequately accounting for selection into honors programs. In addition, virtually no research has explored the conditions under which honors programs are most strongly related to desired outcomes. To provide a rigorous examination of the potential impact of this experience, this study conducted propensity score analyses with a large, multi-institutional, longitudinal sample of undergraduates at 4-year institutions. In the full sample, honors participation predicts greater college GPA and 4-year graduation, while it is unrelated to college satisfaction and retention. However, these results differ notably by institutional selectivity: Honors participation is associated with greater college GPA, retention to the third and fourth years of college, and 4-year graduation at less selective institutions, but it is significantly related only to GPA at more selective institutions. These relationships are also sometimes larger among students from historically underrepresented groups.
Machine Learning-Assisted Network Inference Approach to Identify a New Class of Genes that Coordinate the Functionality of Cancer Networks

Emerging evidence indicates the existence of a new class of cancer genes that act as “signal linkers” coordinating oncogenic signals between mutated and differentially expressed genes. While frequently mutated oncogenes and differentially expressed genes, which we term Class I cancer genes, are readily detected by most analytical tools, the new class of cancer-related genes, i.e., Class II, escape detection because they are neither mutated nor differentially expressed. Given this hypothesis, we developed a Machine Learning-Assisted Network Inference (MALANI) algorithm, which assesses all genes regardless of expression or mutational status in the context of cancer etiology. We used 8807 expression arrays, corresponding to 9 cancer types, to build more than 2 × 108 Support Vector Machine (SVM) models for reconstructing a cancer network. We found that ~3% of ~19,000 not differentially expressed genes are Class II cancer gene candidates. Some Class II genes that we found, such as SLC19A1 and ATAD3B, have been recently reported to associate with cancer outcomes. To our knowledge, this is the first study that utilizes both machine learning and network biology approaches to uncover Class II cancer genes in coordinating functionality in cancer networks and will illuminate our understanding of how genes are modulated in a tissue-specific network contribute to tumorigenesis and therapy development.
Fahrzeuganforderungen bei leichten Nutzfahrzeugen für den inner- und außerstädtischen Lieferverkehr

In den letzten Jahren konnte ein beachtliches Wachstum bei Paketzustellungen und Dienstleistungen im Lieferservice festgestellt werden, das sich insbesondere durch das geanderte Kauferverhalten mit zunehmenden Internetbestellungen begrunden lasst. Allein in Deutschland wurden im Jahr 2014 ingesamt 2,7 Mrd. Paketsendungen zugestellt. Fur das Jahr 2020 werden Steigerungen um 30 % (3,5 Mrd. Paketlieferungen) prognostiziert. Gleichzeitig definieren die Umweltauflagen, die Gesetzgebungen zu den Abgas- und Gerauschemissionen insbesondere fur den innerstadtischen Lieferverkehr sowie die Qualitatsanforderungen bei Lebensmittel- oder Medikamententransporten zusatzliche Herausforderungen, die entsprechende Leichtbaumasnahmen beim Lieferfahrzeug und/oder bei den speziellen Sonderaufbauten notwendig werden lassen. Lieferzeiten sollen mit den passenden Konzepten verkurzt und die Transportkosten auf ein wirtschaftlich vertretbares Niveau weiter gesenkt werden.
Frontal asymmetry as a mediator and moderator of emotion: An updated review

For over 35 years, research has examined frontal alpha EEG asymmetry, discussed in terms of relative left frontal activity (rLFA) in the present review, as a concurrent and prospective marker of affective processing and psychopathology. Because rLFA may index (a) neural correlates of frontal asymmetry, or (b) psychological constructs to which frontal asymmetry relates, rLFA can advance our understanding of both neural and psychological models of emotion and psychopathology. In order to improve such understanding, the specific role of rLFA in extending or challenging existing theory must be clear to researchers and readers alike. In particular, in 2004, Coan and Allen argued that examination of rLFA as a mediator or moderator may improve our theoretical understanding of rLFA. Despite being a commonly cited paper in the field, most rLFA research today still fails to acknowledge the statistical role of rLFA in the research. The aim of the present paper is to (a) convince the reader of the importance of distinguishing rLFA as a predictor, outcome, mediator, or moderator in order to conduct theory-driven research, and (b) highlight some of the major advances in rLFA literature since the review by Coan and Allen (2004) in the framework of mediators and moderators. We selected a broad range of search terms to capture relevant rLFA research and included only those studies utilizing established methods for rLFA measurement.
Adaptive Throwing Sports: Discus, Javelin, Shot Put, and Boccia

Discus, javelin, shot put, and boccia are staples of the Paralympic Summer Games. These throwing events, like all modern-day adaptive sports, can trace their origins to the Stoke Mandeville Games of 1948, which was a competition that was organized to provide an athletic outlet for World War II veterans who had sustained spinal cord injuries. The inaugural games featured 16 participants who competed in wheelchair archery. Although the event was small, it successfully promoted adaptive sports and started the Paralympic movement. This event is still held annually (except during Summer Olympic years) but now is known as the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports World Games. The 1960 Games were held in Rome and featured 400 athletes from 23 countries. Historically, this event would later be recognized as the first Paralympic Games (International Paralympic Committee, Official Website of the Paralympic Movement 2015, http://www.paralympic.org/paralympic-games). The event had expanded significantly from just archery to include javelin and shot put. Discus was later added in the 1964 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, and boccia was introduced in 1984. Most recently, the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London included 4,237 athletes from 164 countries, demonstrating how participation in and popularity of adaptive sports, including the throwing sports, has soared over the years (International Paralympic Committee, Official Website of the Paralympic Movement 2015, http://www.paralympic.org/paralympic-games).
Abstract 21105: The Impact of Gestational Hypertension and Preeclampsia on Postpartum Rates of Follow-Up With Continuity Providers

Introduction: Pregnancy-related hypertension (PRH) is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CV) later in life and is associated with chronic hypertension after delivery. The early post-partum p...
Die Crofton-Formel

Die Crofton-Formel bezieht sich auf die Menge orientierter Geraden in der Ebene. Wie in der geometrischen Optik werden wir orientierte Geraden mitunter als Lichtstrahlen betrachten und sie als Strahlen bezeichnen.
Prenatal alcohol exposure is a risk factor for adult neuropathic pain via aberrant neuroimmune function

Clinical studies show that prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) results in effects that persist into adulthood. Experimental animal models of moderate PAE demonstrate that young adults with PAE display potentiated sensitivity to light touch, clinically termed allodynia, following sciatic nerve chronic constriction injury (CCI) that coincides with heightened spinal glial, spinal macrophage, and peripheral immune responses. However, basal touch sensitivity and corresponding glial and leukocyte activation are unaltered. Therefore, the current study explored whether the enduring pathological consequences of moderate PAE on sensory processing are unmasked only following secondary neural insult. In middle-aged (1 year) Long Evans rats that underwent either prenatal saccharin exposure (control) or moderate PAE, we modified the well-characterized model of sciatic neuropathy, CCI, to study the effects of PAE on neuro-immune responses in adult offspring. Standard CCI manipulation required 4 chromic gut sutures, while a mild version applied a single suture loosely ligated around one sciatic nerve. Spinal glial immunoreactivity was examined using immunohistochemistry. The characterization and functional responses of leukocyte populations were studied using flow cytometry and cell stimulation assays followed by quantification of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). Data were statistically analyzed by ANOVA and unpaired t tests. The current report demonstrates that mild CCI generates robust allodynia only in PAE rats, while the pathological effects of PAE following the application of a standard CCI are revealed by enhanced allodynia and elevated spinal glial activation. Additionally, mild CCI increases spinal astrocyte activation but not microglia, suggesting astrocytes play a larger role in PAE-induced susceptibility to aberrant sensory processing. Leukocyte populations from PAE are altered under basal conditions (i.e., prior to secondary insult), as the distribution of leukocyte populations in lymphoid organs and other regions are different from those of controls. Lastly, following in vitro leukocyte stimulation, only PAE augments the immune response to antigen stimulation as assessed by heightened production of TNF-α and IL-1β. These studies demonstrate PAE may prime spinal astrocytes and peripheral leukocytes that contribute to enduring susceptibility to adult-onset neuropathic pain that is not apparent until a secondary insult later in life.
Ideas for Social Change

The thrust of my remarks has been fashioned by two convictions. First: vast changes in the ways of men living and working together — and in their fighting — are coming about with the acceleration of technical knowledge and its application. It consequence, our already interdependent nation is becoming increasingly interdependent. Second: the resulting social problems can be satisfactorily dealt with only by bringing the basic principles of our kind of a democracy to greater fruition. We believe that by reasoning together, under man-made systems of persuasion, people are willing and able to accomodate as between the duties which alone held a society together and the freedom to act personally. Ours is an agreement-making society.
The Thermoregulatory Effects of Menopausal Hot Flashes on Sleep

Menopausal hot flashes are thought to be a disorder of thermoregulation initiated centrally within the medial preoptic area of the hypothalamus. These heat-loss mechanisms appear to be activated in the presence of normal core body temperature. Previous studies have demonstrated that thermal stimuli have the potential to alter sleep stages. We performed 24-hour ambulatory recordings of hot flashes and all-night sleep parameters on 12 postmenopausal women with hot flashes and seven postmenopausal women without flashes to determine whether the presence of hot flashes prior to sleep or during sleep itself would result in alterations in sleep pattern. The results show that hot flashes are associated with increased Stage 4 sleep and a shortened first rapid eye movement period. Hot flashes occurring in the 2 hours prior to sleep onset were positively correlated with the amount of slow-wave sleep. The central thermoregulatory mechanism underlying hot flashes may affect hypnogenic pathways inducing sleep and heat loss in the absence of a thermal load.
A Weighted Central Limit Theorem for a Function-Indexed Sum with Random Point Masses

Let F is a P-Donsker class of functions for a probability P on a sample space X. The purpose of the present note is to establish sufficient conditions for a functional central limit theorem for weighted sums of the form $$\sum\limits_{{j = 1}}^{n} {{{\xi }_{{nj}}}{{\delta }_{{{{X}_{j}}}}}}$$ (1) where ξ = (ξn nj,j = 1, …,n, n = 1, 2, …) is a triangular array of row-independent random variables, and X1, …, X n are sampled iid and independent of ξ from P.
Half-of-the-site reactivity of the membrane-bound Electrophorus electricus acetylcholine receptor

Abstract Equilibrium binding studies of the interaction of activators (decamethonium, carbamylcholine) and inhibitors (d-tubocurarine, α-bungarotoxin) of membrane electrical potential changes in electroplax membrane preparations from Electrophorus electricus have been carried out at 4°C, in cel Ringer solution, pH 7.0. The properties of the interaction of these chemical mediators with the membrane-bound receptor appear to be similar to those observed with regulatory enzymes which exhibit an allosteric mechanism involving ligand-induced conformational changes. The data presented here show that activators and inhibitors compete for only one-half the available membrane sites. The experiments also provide additional support for the interpretation of kinetic studies which indicated that electroplax membranes contain two different binding sites, one for activators and one for inhibitors of electrical membrane potential changes.
Standardbausteine einer Anwendung

Bis hierher wurde die Basis fur eine erfolgreiche Anwendungsentwicklung gelegt. Sie haben Transaktionen und Transaktionssteuerung, Datenprufung sowie Relationale Datenbanken und Dokumentation kennengelernt. Mit diesen Bausteinen wollen wir nun versuchen, einige Standardtransaktionen zu realisieren.
Relative Abundance of Pond Snails in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, Washington, and the Spread of an Invasive Snail

Abstract. Freshwater gastropods comprise a diverse and highly imperiled taxonomic group that is threatened by anthropogenic factors including the introduction of nonnative species. We surveyed 10 wetland ponds in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge to assess the possible expansion of the nonnative European ear snail (Radix auricularia) and to determine the genus richness and relative abundance of native gastropods. D-frame dip nets were used to sample gastropods at 4 locations in each pond. Six genera of gastropods were found, including R. auricularia in 6 ponds where it was not previously known. Radix auricularia is now the dominant genus in Middle Pine and Lower Pine Lakes, with relative abundances of 84.13% and 92.31%, respectively. Due to the high abundance and spread of R. auricularia in Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge, resource managers need to investigate the snail's impacts and implement strategies to reduce possible negative effects of this nonnative snail on native gastropods and other wildlife.
Descriptive analysis of community dwelling elderly individuals with low falls risk: Utilization of the Steadi Toolkit from the Center for disease control & prevention (CDC)

Introduction/Background The study objectives were: to investigate the fall risk and physical performance of community dwelling elderly individuals with low falls risk using the CDC's STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, & Injuries) toolkit: STEADI screening measure and recommended Clinical Observation Assessments (COA); and,to describe the multi-morbidity burden and physical function of such individuals. Material and Method In a retrospective study at a PMR clinic 17 elderly community-dwelling subjects (age range 60–79 years old) participated. The outcome measures were: the patient-reported STEADI measure assessed falls risk factors (low fall risk defined as STEADI score Results Data met normality assumptions. Mean differences were examined among variables using ANOVA with age as a covariate; age did not differ significantly among participants. Descriptive statistics and significant tests are provided for each variable. No variables demonstrated a gender effect (perhaps because of small n for females). A Pearson Correlation analysis (p ≤ .05) among variables was also conducted. The mean (SD) scores were as follows: STEADI 0.944 (1.21); TUG 16.0 (6.79); CST 10.07 (2.73); SCQ 6.47 (3.28); and, PROMIS-PF 41.48 (9.15). No significant correlations were found, specifically the STEADI score did not correlate with COA, SCQ, and PROMIS-PF. Conclusion Community dwelling elderly individuals with low falls risk tend to have low multi-morbidity burden, mild activity limitation, slow gait speed, and fair lower extremity power–independent of age and gender factors. The study showed the limited use of CDC-recommended COAs in individuals with low falls risk. Future studies should address the appropriate performance-based assessments (PBA) in these individuals with low falls risk as categorized by the CDC's STEADI measure and contrast these PBA with those current CDC-recommended COAs.
Coronary artery disease genes SMAD3 and TCF21 promote opposing interactive genetic programs that regulate smooth muscle cell differentiation and disease risk

Although numerous genetic loci have been associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) with genome wide association studies, efforts are needed to identify the causal genes in these loci and link them into fundamental signaling pathways. Recent studies have investigated the disease mechanism of CAD associated gene SMAD3, a central transcription factor (TF) in the TGFβ pathway, investigating its role in smooth muscle biology. In vitro studies in human coronary artery smooth muscle cells (HCASMC) revealed that SMAD3 modulates cellular phenotype, promoting expression of differentiation marker genes while inhibiting proliferation. RNA sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing studies in HCASMC identified downstream genes that reside in pathways which mediate vascular development and atherosclerosis processes in this cell type. HCASMC phenotype, and gene expression patterns promoted by SMAD3 were noted to have opposing direction of effect compared to another CAD associated TF, TCF21. At sites of SMAD3 and TCF21 colocalization on DNA, SMAD3 binding was inversely correlated with TCF21 binding, due in part to TCF21 locally blocking chromatin accessibility at the SMAD3 binding site. Further, TCF21 was able to directly inhibit SMAD3 activation of gene expression in transfection reporter gene studies. In contrast to TCF21 which is protective toward CAD, SMAD3 expression in HCASMC was shown to be directly correlated with disease risk. We propose that the pro-differentiation action of SMAD3 inhibits dedifferentiation that is required for HCASMC to expand and stabilize disease plaque as they respond to vascular stresses, counteracting the protective dedifferentiating activity of TCF21 and promoting disease risk.
Multi-agent neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves response and survival in patients with resectable pancreatic cancer.

409Background: Neoadjuvant therapy (NT) for resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC) continues to be debated. We sought to establish the impact of single agent (SAC) versus multi-agent chemothera...
Decoupling between Pulmonary Artery and Wedge Pressure is Associated with Hemocompatibility-Related Adverse Events Following LVAD Implantation

Purpose Hemocompatibility-related adverse events (HRAEs) are major causes of readmission in LVAD patients. Decoupling between diastolic pulmonary artery pressure (dPAP) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) is an index of pulmonary vascular damage. This study assessed the implication of decoupling on HRAEs in LVAD patients. Methods In this prospective study LVAD patients underwent invasive hemodynamic tests and were followed for 1 year. Decoupling was defined as a difference >5 mmHg between dPAP and PCWP. One-year freedom from any HRAEs and the net burden of HRAEs, which was calculated by using a hemocompatibility score (using 4 escalating tiers of hierarchal severity to derive a total score for events), were compared between those with and without decoupling. Results Among 92 LVAD patients (median age 61 years, 57% male), 44 patients (48%) had decoupling. One-year freedom from any HRAEs was 49% in the decoupling group compared with 79% in the decoupling-free group (p = 0.005; Figure 1A). The average hemocompatibility score in the decoupling group was significantly higher compared with the control group (2.14 vs. 0.67; p = 0.004; Figure 1B), due to reduced Tier I (1-2 gastrointestinal bleedings or medically managed pump thrombosis; p = 0.027) and Tier IIIB scores (HRAEs-related death; p = 0.041). Conclusion The presence of decoupling between dPAP and PCWP was associated with HRAEs in LVAD patients. Studies evaluating if a reduction in decoupling will also reduce HRAE's is warranted.
Information based complexity for high dimensional sparse functions

Abstract We investigate optimal algorithms for optimizing and approximating a general high dimensional smooth and sparse function from the perspective of information based complexity. Our algorithms and analyses reveal several interesting characteristics for these tasks. In particular, somewhat surprisingly, we show that the optimal sample complexity for optimization or high precision approximation is independent of the ambient dimension. In addition, we show that the benefit of randomization could be substantial for these problems.
Passive Thermal Control of the Primordial Inflation Polarization Explorer (PIPER) Flight Electronics

The scientific balloon program at NASA offers an exciting and open area of opportunity for testing new technologies and for conducting meaningful experimentation at a fraction of the cost of a space mission. This paper outlines a simple thermal model developed and employed for the Primordial Inflation Polarization ExplorER (PIPER). The sub-orbital environment that PIPER operates in hosts an interesting mix of atmospheric and space thermal challenges. The work done was to mitigate thermal loads and passively cool the payload's exterior mounted electronics at an altitude of 36.6 km. This was done by characterizing the thermal environment and then designing solutions for the heat loads through a combined radiation and conduction passive cooling radiator system thermal model. Despite the simplicity and subsequent limitations of the model, as well as some unexpected payload operational events, the model produced results between 0.31% and 11.8% difference between the predicted values and measured average temperatures. From these results, the model was able to successfully provide estimates for the electronics temperatures. Additional flights will be needed to eliminate unknowns encountered in this flight in order to further refine the model for higher accuracy.
A Comparative Performance Analysis of Regular LDPC Codes Over AWGN and Rayleigh Fading Channels

In this paper, we provide a comparative performance analysis of regular Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) codes with rate ½ over uncorrelated Rayleigh fading channel and Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel to find out to what extent a Rayleigh channel, in which the transmissions are interleaved, approximates the effect of an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel . We provide two performance metrics to quantify this comparative study, probability of bit error, and cross correlation of the bits as they travel across the two channels. We calculate cross correlation of the transmitted codewords while the bits are fully or partially interleaved and demonstrate that fully interleaving bits of LDPC encoded codewords (transmitted across Rayleigh fading channel) creates the most correlation with encoded codewords (transmitted across Additive White Gaussian Noise channel) by a factor of 7/5. Additionally, we show that the regular LDPC code used in this study generally performs better (or similar) over Gaussian channel. For two specific signal to noise ratios of 2 dB and 4 dB, probability of bit error associated with Rayleigh channel is approximately twice as much as probability of bit error associated with AWGN channel.
Controlling the false positive rate for lp-ntPET: A correction to goodness of fit metrics for ''effective'' number of parameters

580 Objectives: Linear parametric neurotransmitter PET1 (lp-ntPET) is a novel kinetic model that uses discrete basis functions to estimate the temporal characteristics of neurotransmitter (NT) release. The model contains seven total parameters: three describing tracer delivery—identical to the multilinear reference tissue model2 (MRTM)—and four implicitly describing NT release through basis functions. Goodness of fit (GOF) metrics evaluate the significance of improvement in a fit caused by including the NT variables, over MRTM alone. These metrics expect precise knowledge of the number of parameters in lp-ntPET. However, the basis function implementation means that NT parameters cannot take on all values (do not span the entire parameter space). We assert that proper use of GOF metrics must be formulated using an ‘effective number of parameters’. We hypothesize that the effective number of parameters increases with number of basis functions. Here, we investigated how the size of the basis function library and measurement noise affected model selection. We also used model selection metrics to determine the “effective” number of parameters in a complex model for a stipulated false positive rate (FPR). Methods: We performed null simulations of PET data using the MRTM model (mean values: R1=1, k2=0.42 min-1, BP=3), which included no NT effects during the scan. We applied varying levels of measurement noise within the scan, ranging from noiseless to voxel-level. 10,000 time-activity curves (TACs) were simulated for each noise level, with 10% population variance in kinetic parameters across scans. All TACs were fitted with MRTM and lp-ntPET using 4 different basis function libraries containing 1, 12, 84, and 396 curves, respectively. Because all data were generated by MRTM, any significant improvement in fit by lp-ntPET must be overfitting. An F-statistic was computed from each pair of fits, assuming 7 full parameters in lp-ntPET. We compared the 95th percentile F-statistic from all TACs to the theoretical Fcritical threshold for p<0.05, assuming 7 full parameters. We determined FPR from the Fcritical threshold, for each noise level and size of basis function library. To determine the “effective” number of parameters, we solved for plpntPETiteratively from the formulas for the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) such that lp-ntPET was selected as the superior model 5% of the time (FPR=5%). Mathematically: ∑[GOF(WSSRMRTM, n, pMRTM) - GOF(WSSRlpntPET, n, plpntPET) ≥ 0] ÷10000 = 0.05 — where GOF is BIC or AIC; WSSR is weighted sum of squared residuals produced by a fit; n is number of frames; p is (effective) number of parameters in a model. Results: The FPR calculated from F-values ranged from 7-31%, increasing with noise and number of bases. The 95th percentile of calculated F-values was consistently greater than the Fcritical threshold (p
Modeling multi-target defender-attacker games with quantal response attack strategies

Abstract Due to the growing interest in incorporating behavioral models within the defender-attacker game literature, the perfect rationality assumption of adversaries has been relaxed in many recent works. This paper studies four multi-target defensive resource allocation in defender-attacker games by using a quantal response model, in which the attacker might be bounded rational. We compare the results from the proposed models with the traditional game theoretic model where the attacker behaves rationally. Moreover, we studied the impacts of the attacker’s rationality level on the defender’s optimal defense strategies. Real data from the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) and the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) are employed to estimate the rationality parameter as well as numerically illustrate the model. The results show that: (a) in the quantal response model, the defender’s expected loss at equilibrium increases with the attacker’s rationality parameter and the expected loss approach the results from the game theoretic model; (b) when the attacker’s rationality parameter in the quantal response model approaches infinity, both the equilibrium defensive allocation and expected loss approach to the results from the game theoretic model; (c) when the attacker uses quantal response while the defender falsely believes that the attacker uses game theoretic response, the expected loss will be similar to the model where both players utilize game theoretic response, but higher than the expected loss from the model where both players use quantal response; (d) when the attacker uses game theoretic response while the defender falsely believes that the attacker uses quantal response, the expected equilibrium loss will be higher than the ones from the other three scenarios; and (e) the quantal response model gives a closer resource allocation to the real allocation than the game theoretic model does. This paper provides some novel insights to defensive resource allocation when considering that the attacker is bounded rationality.
ZD1839 (IressaTM) in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Despite the advent of cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the prognosis for this patient population remains poor. Novel biologically targeted agents currently in development have the potential for greater efficacy against NSCLC, and possibly less toxicity than is associated with conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is recognized as a potentially useful target, and the small molecule, orally active EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor ZD1839 (IressaTM) is currently the furthest along in clinical development of the anti-EGFR agents. This review summarizes the currently available clinical data on the use of ZD1839 in the treatment of NSCLC. The Oncologist 2002;7(suppl 4):9-15 The Oncologist 2002;7(suppl 4):9-15 www.TheOncologist.com Correspondence: Roy S. Herbst, M.D., M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Box 432, Houston, Texas 77030, USA. Telephone: 713-792-6363; Fax: 713-796-8655; e-mail: rherbst@mail.mdanderson.org Received June 27, 2002; accepted for publication July 25, 2002. ©AlphaMed Press 10837159/2002/$5.00/0 INTRODUCTION Current Treatment Practice in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer As non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is usually asymptomatic in the early stages, many patients present initially with locally advanced or metastatic disease, which generally has a poor prognosis (Table 1) [1]. Standard first-line treatment for patients with unresectable or metastatic NSCLC consists of platinum-based combination chemotherapy (Fig. 1). A metaanalysis of eight trials comparing treatment with cisplatinbased chemotherapy plus best supportive care versus best supportive care alone revealed a 10% improvement in 1-year survival and a 27% reduction in the risk of death in favor of cisplatin-based chemotherapy [2]. Combination chemotherapy LEARNING OBJECTIVES After completing this course, the reader will be able to: 1. Identify the current status of Phase I, II, and III trials of ZD1839 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). 2. Describe the clinical development plan for ZD1839 in second line, adjuvant (maintenance), and prevention in patients with NSCLC. 3. Identify treatment options for patients with NSCLC. Access and take the CME test online and receive one hour of AMA PRA category 1 credit at CME.TheOncologist.com CME Table 1. Stage distribution and associated survival rates of NSCLC [1] Disease stage Patients at diagnosis (%) 5-year survival rate (%)
Phthisis Bulbi in a Retinitis Pigmentosa Patient after Argus II Implantation.

Purpose. To report a previously unreported complication of phthisis after Argus II prosthesis implantation in a retinitis pigmentosa (RP) patient. Case. A 61-year-old male with advanced RP presented to the retina clinic. The patient had a history of vitrectomy in both eyes (OU) in Cuba in 1996. Pre-op visual acuity (VA) was no light perception (NLP) in the right eye and light perception (LP) in the left eye. The patient met the criteria for Argus II implantation and elected to proceed with surgery in his left eye in December 2017. The surgical implantation of the Argus II was successful without any complications. On postoperative day 1, his VA was stable at LP. He was satisfied with his ambulatory vision after the electrodes were turned on. Four months after surgery, the patient was complaining of aching pain; he was found to have preseptal cellulitis and was started on antibiotics. This swelling improved over two weeks, but when the patient returned, he had a two mm hyphema associated with mild ocular inflammation without an inciting event or reason on exam. The hyphema was treated and resolved after two weeks. However, one month after the hyphema resolved, at postoperative month six, the patient’s vision in his left eye became NLP and began to demonstrate phthisical changes, including hypotony, Descemet membrane folds, and a vascular posterior capsular membrane. Discussion. The theoretical causes of phthisis bulbi after Argus II implantation include fibrous downgrowth, ciliary shut down due to immune reaction, inflammation, or trauma. While the cause of phthisis in this Argus patient is not certain and possibly multifactorial, it is important to note that phthisis is a possible complication of an Argus II implant, as this patient had no other obvious insult or reason for the phthisical change.