cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surveillance Colonoscopy After Ureterosigmoidostomy

Fourteen patients had surveillance colonoscopy 2 to 48 years after ureterosigmoidostomy urinary diversion. Five patients (37 per cent) had benign polyps distal to the implant sites that were removed but no colon carcinomas were found. We discuss the rationale for surveillance colonoscopy at regular intervals. This procedure may allow greater usage of ureterosigmoidostomy as a means of urinary diversion.
Faculty promotion and publication rates in family medicine: 1981 versus 1989.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to compare academic promotion success in a cohort of full-time academic family medicine faculty nominated for promotion in university-based programs during the 1988-1989 academic year to 74 faculty nominees from a 1981 study. METHODS Responses were received from 97 of 122 chairs (80% response). Thirty-two schools reported on their 46 nominees. RESULTS In comparison to 1981, the likelihood of achieving academic promotion increased from 65% to 88% for all nominees, from 58% to 85% for candidates for associate professor, from 68% to 89% for physicians, and from 36% to 80% for faculty from public schools with low research support. All female nominees were promoted. Physicians nominated for assistant professor averaged 2.7 publications; for associate professor, 6.7; and for full professor, 13.8. For the 26 faculty nominated for associate professor: nominees from public institutions with high research and development funding had the most publications per year; nominees from programs in the Midwest and West wrote the most articles; and promoted nominees with PhD/EdD degrees wrote twice as many journal articles as MD/DO nominees. CONCLUSIONS The 46 nominees in 1989 represent a considerable decline from the 74 in 1981. The likelihood of achieving academic promotion increased significantly; successful nominees wrote 60% more articles than those denied promotion.
ChIP-seq in studying epigenetic mechanisms of disease and promoting precision medicine: progresses and future directions

Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) is widely used for mapping histone modifications, histone proteins, chromatin regulators, transcription factors and other DNA-binding proteins. It has played a significant role in our understanding of disease mechanisms and in exploring epigenetic changes for potential clinical applications. However, the conventional protocol requires large amounts of starting material and does not quantify the actual occupancy, limiting its applications in clinical settings. Herein we summarize the latest progresses in utilizing ChIP-seq to link epigenetic alterations to disease initiation and progression, and the implications in precision medicine. We provide an update on the newly developed ChIP-seq protocols, especially those suitable for scare clinical samples. Technical and analytical challenges are outlined together with recommendations for improvement. Finally, future directions in expediting ChIP-seq use in clinic are discussed.
Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura and the Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and the hemolytic-uremic syndrome share the characteristic features of microvascular thrombosis, thrombocytopenia, and hemolysis with schistocytes on blood smears. In both disorders, thrombocytopenia results from consumption of platelets, whereas schistocytes are fragmented red blood cells generated by abnormally high levels of shear stress resulting from microvascular thrombosis. Microvascular thrombosis may occur via distinct mechanisms, including intravascular von Willebrand factor-platelet aggregation due to ADAMTS13 deficiency in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura and endothelial injury due to shiga toxins of E. coli infections, T-antigen activation in pneumococcal sepsis or dysregulation of complement activation in the hemolytic-uremic syndrome. This chapter reviews the molecular mechanisms of ADAMTS13 deficiency, shiga toxins, and defective complement regulation in the pathogenesis of microvascular thrombosis and their correlation with clinical features and management.
Political violence: an introduction

This article sets the stage for this special issue on political violence by providing some necessary background and definitions. For example, data plots are displayed to capture past and recent trends in transnational and domestic terrorist attacks, interstate and intrastate wars, and battle-related deaths. These plots document the changing nature of political violence in recent years. Additionally, this article indicates the basic themes of each study in this issue, along with their primary findings and methodologies. Special issue articles shed light on important aspects of terrorism, civil wars, coups, and piracy.
Learning Vicariously: Tourism, Orientalism and the Making of an Architectural Photography Collection of Egypt

Andrew Dickson White, the first president of Cornell University in the United States, referred to architecture as his 'pet extravagance.' Leveraging his influential position as president, White was instrumental in the establishment of the architecture department in 1871. One of his noteworthy contributions to this newly founded department was the initiation of an architectural photography collection that was a direct result of his travels around the world as a diplomat, a scholar and, eventually, as a tourist. This architectural photography collection formed the core of the architectural history education at the school well into the 20th century. At that time, photographs provided one of the only ways for students to learn about the architecture of distant places. White’s selection of architectural subjects, however, was shaped not through deep scholarly inquiry, but rather by the nascent tourist industry. This paper examines White's Egyptian collection, acquired during his voyage to Egypt in 1889. His trip to Egypt, in his own words “marked a new epoch in [his] thinking.” Encountering the 'east' for the first time, White's photography collection both bolstered and challenged the prescribed ways of viewing Egypt and Egyptian architecture, thus having a direct influence on how Cornell students perceived the historic built environment of the ‘east’.
Intrusion detection system for smart meters

Smart meters allow data acquisition from the customers to be conducted frequently and enable customer participation through various demand side response mechanisms. With support of information and communications technology, smart meters can be controlled and monitored remotely over the wireless broadband public network. Therefore, smart meters are vulnerable to cyber attacks due to connectivity and communication through the open space. In the worst case, intrusions into multiple meters can lead to severe cascading events, causing catastrophic dysfunction and wrong data generated by the meter. In this paper, an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) is proposed which contains host-based and network-based anomaly detection systems for the smart grid. The host-based anomaly detection considers temporal anomalies in the grid facilities, e.g., user-interfaces, access point to smart meters. The malicious behaviors of multicast messages, e.g., Sampled Measured Value (SMV), are incorporated in the proposed network-based anomaly detection. The proposed simultaneous intrusion detection method is able to identify the same type of attacks at multiple devices and their locations. The result is a new integrated tool for detection and mitigation of cyber intrusions at a single meter or multiple meters of a power grid.
The Relationship Between Obesity and Lymphoma: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies

Abstract Abstract 5198 Introduction: Lymphoma is a common hematologic malignancy, etiology of which remains largely unclear. Obesity and overweight have been associated with an increased risk of developing lymphoma; however, with conflicting results. The main objective of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the potential relationship that overweight and obesity may have in the development of lymphoma in adults. A secondary objective was to evaluate the risk of separate lymphoma subtypes, such as Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and the most common NHL subtypes – diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL) – in overweight and obese individuals. Methods: A MEDLINE search from January 1950 to December 2010 was undertaken using: (obesity OR “body mass index” OR BMI OR overweight) AND (leukemia OR lymphoma OR myeloma). Only prospective cohort studies reporting on the incidence of lymphoma were included. Retrospective case-control and cross-sectional studies were excluded. Meta-analyses were performed for HL, NHL and NHL subtypes. The outcome was calculated as relative risk (RR). Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) 25–29.9 kg/m2 and obesity as BMI ≥30 kg/m2, according to the WHO criteria. The quality of the studies was determined by the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS). The random effects model was used to calculate the combined outcome. Heterogeneity was assessed by the I2 statistic. Publication bias was assessed by the trim-and-fill analysis. Meta-regression analyses were performed to evaluate the association between BMI, as a continuous variable, and the incidence of HL and NHL in general and NHL subtypes. Literature search, data gathering and study quality assessment were performed independently by at least two of the investigators. All graphs and calculations were obtained using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 2 (Biostat, Englewood, NJ). Results: From 758 returns, 22 prospective cohort studies evaluating the association between obesity and lymphoma were identified. All the studies were of high quality (NOS >7 points). For NHL, the overall RR was 1.06 (95% CI 1.02–1.10; p=0.001). For overweight and obese patients, the RR were 1.04 (95% CI 1.01–1.07; p=0.02) and 1.11 (95% CI 1.06–1.16; p Conclusions: Obesity was associated with a mild increased risk of developing HL (23%), NHL in general (11%) and DLBCL (24%), but there was no association with FL. There was a statistically significant linear association between BMI and HL as well as for NHL in general, but only a trend towards an association with DLBCL. Disclosures: Castillo: GlaxoSmithKline: Research Funding; Millennium Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding.
Evaluation of gender‐based disparities in time from initial haematuria presentation to upper tract urothelial carcinoma diagnosis: analysis of a nationwide insurance claims database

Objective To investigate the length of time from initial haematuria presentation to upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) diagnosis and the effect of gender on this duration. Patients and methods Patients with haematuria claims in the year prior to UTUC diagnosis were identified from the MarketScan database (2010-2014). Delayed diagnosis was defined as >90 days from haematuria presentation to UTUC diagnosis. Multivariable Poisson regression models were used to determine factors associated with delayed UTUC diagnosis. Results Among 1 326 patients with UTUC, 469 (35.4%) experienced delayed diagnosis. Men (n = 866) had a longer median interval from haematuria to diagnosis than women (60 vs 49 days; P = 0.04). In the multivariable model, male gender (relative risk [RR] 1.13, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.95-1.34) was not associated with delayed diagnosis, while urinary tract infection (UTI; RR 1.52, 95% CI 1.32-1.76), nephrolithiasis (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.06-1.44), new (RR 1.37, 95% CI 1.12-1.66) and recurrent prostate-related diagnoses (RR 1.61, 95% CI 1.23-2.10) were. For men presenting to non-urologists, UTI (RR 1.44, 95% CI 1.22-1.71), nephrolithiasis (RR 1.25 95% CI 1.05-1.49), new (RR 1.41, 95% CI 1.12-1.78) and recurrent prostate-related diagnoses (RR 1.94, 95% CI 1.45-2.58) were associated with delayed diagnosis; however, for men presenting to urologists, nephrolithiasis (RR 1.08 95% CI 0.78-1.49), new (RR 1.15, 95% CI 0.79-1.68) and recurrent prostate-related diagnoses (RR 1.17, 95% CI 0.69-1.97) were not associated with delayed diagnosis, while UTI diagnosis (RR 1.74, 95% CI 1.31-2.31) was still associated with delayed diagnosis. Conclusion A UTUC diagnosis was made >90 days after haematuria presentation in approximately one-third of patients. Men experienced a longer median interval from haematuria to UTUC diagnosis compared with women, but male gender was not an independent predictor of delayed diagnosis. Benign diagnoses during haematuria evaluation were strongly associated with delayed diagnosis, especially among patients initially seen by non-urologists. Future interventions should focus on development of non-invasive techniques to improve clinical risk stratification of patients presenting with haematuria and to educate practitioners, especially non-urologists, with regard to the importance of a thoughtful haematuria evaluation and the common mimickers of UTUC, to help reduce delays in diagnosis.
Key issues in drought preparedness: Reflections on experiences and strategies in the United States and selected countries

Abstract Droughts continue to be a major natural hazard. Areas around the world face a pressing question: Are we prepared for another major drought given the fact that the frequency and intensity of droughts fall far outside our contemporary experience? This question is complex since it involves risk management issues beyond traditional crisis management, which are related to climate change, socioeconomic conditions, infrastructures, institutions and behaviors, and the use of drought forecasts. These issues must be studied in a holistic framework considering the interdependence among social, economic, technical, and environmental factors that jointly challenge drought preparedness. This paper provides synthesis of relevant studies and expects to shed light on an integrated research agenda for drought preparedness, which is urgently needed for our societies.
Assessing the state of engineering instruction in Maine's K-12 schools

In today's increasingly tech-based economy, many high-salary jobs are created in the STEM fields. These jobs often are either in or related to engineering, and thus establishing an educational engineering pipeline is critical to supply this demand. In Maine, no state-wide assessment data of engineering literacy in K-12 schools is available. Information is needed to assess if the current quantity and quality of engineering instruction at K-12 level is sufficient to generate a pathway into engineering for Maine students and support the state's economic development. The work presented here addresses this need by conducting an in-depth assessment of engineering specific instructional interventions at Maine's K-12 schools. An expert panel, comprised of a diverse group of educators and practicing engineers, support the research team in defining, examining and quantifying current Maine STEM educational efforts from an engineering perspective. Preliminary survey results show that in rural and urban cluster areas, engineering related interventions are less frequent where high indices of economically disadvantaged students are found. Additionally, preliminary data indicates that the percentage of teachers with an engineering background is less than twenty percent. Preliminary results are further presented using geographical and demographic indicators such as county and economically disadvantaged student ratio.
Smoking: Perspectives 1985

SUMMARY The magnitude of the smoking problem is overwhelming. The annual mortality and expense are staggering The task of changing this apocalyptic problem seems impossible. The solution, however, is not remote: It begins with each physician and with each individual patient who smokes. A consistent attitude of nonacceptance of the smoking habit with recommendations and support for discontinuation can make a significant impact on the problem. Extension of this attitude into community affairs and regional and national politics will result in increased public awareness and eventually in the majority rejecting this costly habit.
Exploring the underlying genetic mechanisms of pancreatic cancer development

3837 Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is a leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States with approximately 30,000 new cases diagnosed each year. A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that lead to PDA would help to identify novel molecular targets for early screening and intervention to prevent the disease in susceptible population before an invasive carcinoma develops. Numerous experimental techniques have been utilized to study PDA in the past with much attention now being focused on the use of animal models that mimic the pathology of the human disease. The use of animal models is advantageous since they can be manipulated to answer specific questions regarding the underlying genetic mechanisms of cancer development. Transgenic mouse models of pancreatic cancer have been created based on mutations of tumor suppressor or proto-oncogenes such as Pten , K-Ras , and T Antigen (Rb & p53) since alterations in these genes have been correlated to PDA in human tumors. Despite mimicking certain features of human pathology, none of these models develops metastatic pancreatic cancer, indicating that additional genetic or epigenetic events are likely required for the progression and for accurately modeling the disease as seen in humans. Inflammation has been recognized as an important contributing factor to tumor development. Several lines of evidence suggest that the synthesis of prostaglandins caused by Cox-2 over expression may play a role in carcinogenesis, however no direct testing of the effect of Cox-2 expression has been performed. Here we will directly test whether Cox-2 overexpression in the pancreas alone will lead to tumor development. The formation of tumors in this model would demonstrate an important early role for inflammation in PDA development. Conversely, it is possible that while no tumor development may arise from Cox-2 overexpression alone, inflammation in the pancreas may predispose mice to the development of metastatic tumors in the presence of K-Ras activation or Pten deletion.
Plant Signaling in Agrobacterium-Mediated Transformation

The transformation of higher plants by Agrobacterium requires that a set of genes termed virulence (virgenes) be expressed. These genes, organized into six operons, are not normally active when the bacteria are growing in the absence of a wounded plant cell. However, in the presence of plant wound exudate, two of the virgenes virAand virGtranscriptionally activate all of the othervirgenes. [for recent reviews, 1,2] Both genes are members of a two component regulatory system virA coding for the sensor protein, which recognizes specific molecules in the plant wound exudate, and virG the response regulator which binds to specific sequences upstream of each of the vir genes. As in other two-component systems, activation involves the phosphorylation of a specific histidine residue on the sensor protein and its transfer to a specific aspartate molecule on the response regulator.
Cue integration and competition during navigation

Navigation is influenced by body-based self-motion cues that are integrated over time in a process known as path integration, and also by environmental cues such as landmarks and room shape. This project explored whether humans combine path integration and room shape cues when returning to a previously visited location and connects human cue integration research to animal cue competition research. Participants walked an outbound path in an immersive virtual environment before attempting to return to the path origin. Path integration and an environmental cue were both available during the outbound path, but experimental manipulations created singleand dual-cue conditions during the return path. Response variance when returning to the path origin was reduced when both cues were available. These findings indicate that humans integrate multiple spatial cues during navigation. Additionally, participants preferred environmental cues over path integration when cues were placed in a small conflict, while environmental cues were abandoned in favor of path integration cues when cues were placed in a large conflict.
Signal Enhancement for Automatic Identification of Arterial Wall Echoes from an Intravessel Scanner

Techniques for automatic processing of echo information for determining vessel cross sectional area are described. The echo information is obtained from a catheter tip instrumented with a circumferential array of transducer elements. variation in the amplitude of echoes received and frequent appearance of multiple echoes pose wall echo identification problems. Four processing strategies have been implemented to overcome these problems: (1) ensemble integration; (2) adaptive setting of the number of ensemble integrations performed for each transducer scanned; (3) echo video integration; and (4) adaptive threshold crossing detection. Each of these methods has proven useful in overcoming particular problems.
Designing for online computer-based clinical simulations: Evaluation of instructional approaches

Abstract Background Online computer-based simulations are becoming more widespread in nursing education. Therefore, an understanding of when and how to implement the variety of instructional strategies related to these simulations is fundamental. Objectives This study compares the effectiveness of online computer-based simulations designed using two alternative instructional approaches—Productive Failure and Simple-to-Complex sequencing—on learning of clinical reasoning skills. Participants Participants in this study were undergraduate nursing students (n = 103, mean age = 23.4 ± 2.1) enrolled at a university in Israel. Methods Participants completed two online simulations designed using Productive Failure approach (emergency medicine, mental health) and two online simulations using Simple-to-Complex approach (cardiovascular health, pediatrics). Pre- and post-test clinical reasoning evaluations were administered prior to and immediately following each simulation. Results Clinical reasoning learning gains were significantly higher for online simulations designed with the Simple-to-Complex approach than simulations designed with Productive Failure approach (F (3, 288) = 9.656, P Conclusions This study proposes that well-designed online simulations can improve nursing students' clinical reasoning. The Simple-to-Complex approach was found to be more efficient than Productive Failure for online learning. Learning with Simple-to-Complex approach was behaviorally more engaging and students' achievements were higher, which implies that instructional process facilitates learning, and therefore have to be taken in consideration by nurse educators. Integration of computerized educational modalities within nursing education is discussed.
Race and Disability: From Analogy to Intersectionality

Sociologists are using intersectional lenses to examine an increasingly wider range of processes and identities, yet the intersection of race and disability remains a particularly neglected area in...
Models for coronary pressure-flow relationships

We have developed a mathematical model which describes pressure-inflow relationships in the coronary circulation. Model parameters have been identified during metabolic and pharmacologic vasodilation. These two stimuli appear to affect resistance and back pressure in different ways. A possible explanation involving myogenic and metabolic effects is suggested.
Sentencing Reform: Fixing Root Problems

In theory, at least, many subscribe to the belief that it is better to let 10 or 100 guilty persons go free rather than convict an innocent person. Indeed, the American criminal justice system provides criminal defendants a panoply of important rights, including the right to effective assistance of counsel, in large part to ensure that the innocent are not convicted of crimes that they did not commit. But defense counsel is there not only to protect the innocent, but also to ensure that, if the defendant is found guilty after trial or if the defendant pleads guilty before trial, he or she will receive a fair sentence. In practice, however, too many criminal defendants receive lackluster representation, and few ever actually exercise their right to trial. Instead, our current criminal justice system is plea-bargain-driven, and the vast majority of state and federal criminal offenders plead guilty—approximately 97% of federal cases and 94% of state cases are resolved by guilty pleas rather than trials. Commenting on the prevalence of negotiated guilty pleas, the U.S. Supreme Court has stated that “plea bargaining is . . . not some adjunct to the criminal justice system; it is the criminal justice system.” Why, then, are criminal defense lawyers able to persuade the vast majority of their clients to plead guilty, even those who are actually innocent? Put simply, it is because our system punishes so severely those who go to trial and lose. If we are serious about both minimizing the conviction of the innocent and sentencing reform, we must address this reality. This essay, therefore, focuses on two pernicious features of our current criminal justice system—misuse of plea bargaining and misuse of informants—that explain why so few criminal defendants exercise their right to trial. We conclude with proposals that might ameliorate those features of our system.
Use of self-reported vaccination status can bias vaccine effectiveness estimates from test-negative studies

Abstract Introduction A number of national/multi-national networks provide annual estimates of influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) based on the test-negative design. Most of these networks use subject self-reports to define influenza vaccination history. In this study, we used simulations to estimate the degree to which self-reported vaccination status can bias test-negative VE estimates. Methods We simulated a population whose members are at risk for acute respiratory illness (ARI) due to influenza and for ARI due to other respiratory pathogens. Vaccination was assumed to reduce the risk of influenza but not of non-influenza ARI. We simulated a range of possible values for VE and for vaccine coverage. Across simulations, we varied the sensitivity and specificity of self-reported vaccination status relative to true vaccination. We estimated bias as the percent difference in VE in the presence of misclassification relative to true simulated VE. Results Assuming self-report has sensitivity of 95% and specificity of 90%, estimated VE underestimated true VE by 16% (95% confidence interval, 4–30%). Decreasing specificity of self-reports resulted in greater bias than decreasing sensitivity of self-reports. Bias also increased as vaccine coverage decreased. Conclusions The use of self-reported influenza vaccination history can meaningfully bias influenza VE in test-negative studies. Researchers using test-negative designs should attempt to supplement or validate self-reported vaccination history using additional data sources.
RECURRENT GENOMIC COPY NUMBER VARIANTS IMPLICATE NEW CANDIDATE GENES FOR EARLY ONSET BICUSPID AORTIC VALVE DISEASE

Bicuspid Aortic Valve (BAV), the most common adult congenital heart defect, is a major cause of aortic insufficiency or stenosis requiring valve replacement and thoracic aortic aneurysms predisposing to acute aortic dissections. The spectrum of BAV ranges from early onset valve and aortic
Development of a Paper Spray Mass Spectrometry Cartridge with Integrated Solid Phase Extraction for Bioanalysis

A novel paper spray cartridge with an integrated solid phase extraction (SPE) column is described. The cartridge performs extraction and pre-concentration, as well as sample ionization by paper spray, from complex samples such as plasma. The cartridge allows for selective enrichment of target molecules from larger sample volumes and removal of the matrix, which significantly improved the signal intensity of target compounds in plasma samples by paper spray ionization. Detection limits, quantitative performance, recovery, ionization suppression, and the effects of sample volume were evaluated for five drugs: carbamazepine, atenolol, sulfamethazine, diazepam, and alprazolam. Compared with direct paper spray analysis of dried plasma spots, paper spray analysis using the integrated solid phase extraction improved the detection limits significantly by a factor of 14–70, depending on the drug. The improvement in detection limits was, in large part, due to the capability of analyzing larger sample volumes. In ad...
Surveillance-Based Estimate of the Prevalence of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection, New York City, 2016:

Objectives:Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a lifelong infection that can cause serious liver damage and liver cancer. The last surveillance-based prevalence estimate of chronic HBV inf...
Audit Implications of AI & Blockchain

Some of the most high profile work that has taken place, especially as it pertains to the accounting subset of the financial services landscape, is the work that has taken place linked to audit and attestation work. The audit process, as currently constituted, is an almost perfect fit for the increased efficiency and automation provided for by a variety of blockchain tools. Audits, and these similarities tend to exist across geographic and firm lines, tend to contain several of the same core components. An engagement letter is composed, outlining the services to be provided by the external audit organization, including but not limited to the testing of certain assets, verification of financial statement amounts, and then the issuance of an opinion based on these amounts. Even with these tests and analyses, some of which may be quite sophisticated in nature, there is a fundamental time lag issue that usually remains unaddressed despite how efficient the audit process is. Put simply, the amount of time that passes between when the data is actually generated or produced, and the time that the audit actually occurs can stretch into months. Even with interim work, or work performed at different times during the year, there is still often a substantial lag between when data (and potential errors) happen, and when that data and potential errors are reported to management. The figure below represents areas in a financial transaction (trading) in which potential audit and attestation implications will arise, and can be aided by the implementation of emerging technologies (Fig. 13.1).
Sarcopenia is associated with increased mortality but not complications following resection and reconstruction of sarcoma of the extremities

Background and objectives Evidence regarding the impact of sarcopenia on operative outcomes in patients with sarcoma is lacking. We evaluated the relationship between sarcopenia and postoperative complications or mortality among patients undergoing tumor excision and reconstruction. ​ METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 145 patients treated with tumor excision and limb reconstruction for sarcoma of the extremities. Sarcopenia was defined as psoas index (PI) Results There were 101 soft tissue tumors and 44 primary bone tumors. Sarcopenia was present in 38 patients (26%). Sarcopenic patients were older (median age: 72 vs 59 years, P = .0010) and had larger tumors (86.5%, >5 cm vs 77.7%, P = .023). Seventy-three patients experienced complications (51%) and 18 patients died within 1 year. Sarcopenia and metastatic disease were associated with increased 12-month mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 6.68, P Conclusions Sarcopenia and metastatic disease were independently associated with postoperative mortality but no complications following surgery.
Development and validation of an interpretive guide for PROMIS scores

Accurate score interpretation is required for the appropriate use of patient-reported outcome measures in clinical practice. To create and evaluate figures (T-score Maps) to facilitate the interpretation of scores on Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System (PROMIS) measures. For 21 PROMIS® short forms, item-level information was used to predict the most probable responses to items for the range of possible scores on each short form. Predicted responses were then “mapped” graphically along the range of possible scores. In a previously conducted longitudinal study, 1594 adult participants with chronic conditions (e.g., multiple sclerosis) responded to four items each of a subset of these PROMIS short forms. Participants’ responses to these items were compared to those predicted by the T-score Maps. Difference scores were calculated between observed and predicted scores, and Spearman correlations were calculated. We constructed T-score Maps for 21 PROMIS short forms for adults and pediatric self- and parent-proxy report. For the clinical population, participants’ actual responses were strongly correlated with their predicted responses (r = 0.762 to 0.950). The majority of predicted responses exactly matched observed responses (range 69.5% to 85.3%). Results support the validity of the predicted responses used to construct T-score Maps. T-score Maps are ready to be tested as interpretation aids in a variety of applications.
Estrogen deficiency and the pathogenesis of osteoporosis

Abstract Estrogen deficiency is a pivotal cause of postmenopausal bone loss and contributes to age-related bone loss in both sexes. At the cellular level, estrogen acts on multiple cell types, including T cells. Estrogen deficiency is associated with increased production of tumor necrosis factor by bone marrow T cells, which augments receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand-induced osteoclastogenesis. Moreover, estrogen deficiency alters the regulatory cross talk between T cells and stromal cells, resulting in enhanced production of osteoclastogenic cytokines by stromal cells. Estrogen also has indirect positive effects on calcium metabolism and its deficiency reduces both intestinal and renal calcium absorption. In addition, estrogen is a major regulator of bone metabolism in men, and low estrogen levels are associated with increased fracture risk, even in the setting of normal testosterone levels. Thus although the causes of osteoporotic fractures are multifactorial, estrogen deficiency plays a prominent role in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in both sexes.
Cervical cancer treatment initiation and survival: The role of residential proximity to cancer care

Abstract Objective To examine the role of driving time to cancer care facilities on days to cancer treatment initiation and cause-specific survival for cervical cancer patients. Methods A retrospective cohort analysis of patients diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer during 2001–2016, using South Carolina Central Cancer Registry data linked to vital records. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association of driving times to both a patient's nearest and actual cancer treatment initiation facility with cause-specific survival and time to treatment initiation. Results Of 2518 eligible patients, median cause-specific survival was 49 months (interquartile, 17–116) and time to cancer treatment initiation was 21 days (interquartile, 0–40). Compared to patients living within 15 min of the nearest cancer provider, those living more than 30 min away were less likely to receive initial treatment at teaching hospitals, Joint Commission accredited facilities, and/or Commission on Cancer accredited facilities. After controlling for patient, clinical, and provider characteristics, no significant associations existed between driving times to the nearest cancer provider and survival/time to treatment. When examining driving times to treatment initiation (rather than simply nearest) provider, patients who traveled farther than 30 min to their actual providers had delayed initiation of cancer treatment (hazard ratio, 0.81; 95% confidence interval, 0.73–0.90), including surgery (0.82; 95% CI, 0.72–0.92) and radiotherapy (0.82, 95% CI, 0.72–0.94). Traveling farther than 30 min to the first treating provider was not associated with worse cause-specific survival. Conclusions For cervical cancer patients, driving time to chosen treatment providers, but not to the nearest cancer care provider, was associated with prolonged time to treatment initiation. Neither was associated with survival.
Biological Control and Microbial Ecology Draft Genome Sequence Data of Glutamicibacter sp. FBE-19, a Bacterium Antagonistic to the Plant Pathogen Erwinia tracheiphila

Glutamicibacter sp. FBE-19 was isolated based on its strong antagonism to the cucurbit bacterial blight pathogen Erwinia tracheiphila on plates. Members of the Glutamicibacter genus can promote plant growth under saline conditions and antagonize fungi on plates via chitinolytic activity; however, their production of antibacterial compounds has not been examined. Here, we report the genome sequence of strain FBE-19. The genome is 3.85 Mbp with a G+C content of 60.1% and comprises 3,791 genes. Genes that may contribute to its antagonistic activity include genes for the secondary metabolites stenothricin, salinosporamide A, a second β-lactone compound, and a carotenoid. The Glutamicibacter sp. FBE-19 genome data may be a useful resource if this strain proves to be an effective biocontrol agent against E. tracheiphila.
Protein foods from animal sources, incident cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality: A substitution analysis

Background Protein-rich foods are major parts of the human diet and are highly heterogeneous in nutrient composition and health effects. Designing healthy diets for disease prevention requires careful consideration of substituting unhealthier protein foods with healthier protein foods. Methods This was a pooled analysis of six prospective cohort studies of 29 682 US participants. Data were collected in 1985-2016. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 30-year absolute risk differences (ARDs) were calculated for the associations between simultaneous substitution of one or more animal protein foods with other animal or plant protein foods at various amounts, and incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality. Results Substituting eggs, processed meat, unprocessed red meat or poultry with nuts, whole grains, legumes or fish was associated with lower risks of incident CVD and all-cause mortality. According to different substitution amounts (varying from one serving per week to one serving per day) and different numbers of protein foods being simultaneously substituted (varying from one to four), estimates ranged between 1%: HR, 0.99 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.98-1.00], and 54%: HR, 0.46 (0.35-0.60), lower risks on the relative scale and between 0.3%: ARD, -0.29% (-0.48% to -0.05%), and 14.0%: ARD, -13.96% (-17.29% to -9.96%) lower risks on the absolute scale. Conclusions Nuts, whole grains, legumes and fish appeared to be healthier protein sources than eggs, processed meat, unprocessed red meat and poultry for preventing incident CVD and premature death. The magnitude of lower risk for incident CVD and all-cause mortality was driven by amount and number of animal protein foods substituted.
WNK1 Enhances Migration and Invasion in Breast Cancer Models

Abstract Metastasis is the major cause of mortality in breast cancer patients. Many signaling pathways have been linked to cancer invasiveness, but blockade of few protein components has succeeded in reducing metastasis. Thus, identification of proteins contributing to invasion that are manipulable by small molecules may be valuable in inhibiting spread of the disease. The protein kinase WNK1 (with no lysine (K) 1) has been suggested to induce migration of cells representing a range of cancer types. Analyses of mouse models and patient data have implicated WNK1 as one of a handful of genes uniquely linked to invasive breast cancer. Here we present evidence that inhibition of WNK1 slows breast cancer metastasis. We show that depletion or inhibition of WNK1 reduces migration of several breast cancer cell lines in wound healing assays and decreases invasion in collagen matrices. Furthermore, WNK1 depletion suppresses expression of AXL, a tyrosine kinase implicated in metastasis. Finally, we demonstrate that WNK inhibition in mice attenuates tumor progression and metastatic burden. These data showing reduced migration, invasion, and metastasis upon WNK1 depletion in multiple breast cancer models suggest that WNK1 contributes to the metastatic phenotype and that WNK1 inhibition may offer a therapeutic avenue for attenuating progression of invasive breast cancers.
Scalable synthesis of selective hydrodeoxygenation inverted Pd@TiO2 nanocatalysts

Novel developments in catalytic nanomaterials will enable more sustainable processes provided that scalable synthetic methods can be developed. Recently, inverted systems consisting of palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) encapsulated in a porous titania shell (Pd@TiO2) that has micropores have been associated with high selectivity for hydrodeoxygenation. These catalysts are currently synthesized in low-throughput batch processes that can be difficult to scale because of poor mixing at large scales. Mixing can be controlled through a continuous jet-mixing reactor that has been previously demonstrated to produce monodisperse nanomaterials. A jet-mixing process is developed for continuous Pd@TiO2 synthesis by evaluating the effect of important synthesis parameters in batch. Pd@TiO2 synthesized through jet-mixing is found to contain comparable microporosity to its lab scale batch-synthesized counterpart. The materials produced using the jet-mixing reactor achieve > 99.3 % selectivity for the HDO product (i.e., toluene) over the decarbonylation product (benzene). Overall, these results demonstrate that the continuous jet-mixing reactor is a promising technology for scalable production of selective Pd@TiO2 nanocatalysts.
Does Coaching in the 3rd Year of Medical School Affect Stress, Anxiety and Depression?

BackgroundMedical students experience significant stress and anxiety during undergraduate education. Coaching is a possible way of supporting these students throughout this challenging time. To assess the benefits of coaching for medical students, a pilot study providing coaching was performed. This pilot assessed how coaching affected the mental health of medical students and how coaching was received by them. MethodsTwelve third-year medical students were each given eight 30-60 minute coaching sessions. Each participant took the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) pre-, mid-and post-coaching. After coaching, there were three open-ended questions to measure the reactions to coaching and a scale to determine the likelihood of accessing coaching in the future. ResultsThere was a significant effect of coaching on perceived stress(p=.023); a trend toward significant effect of coaching on anxiety(p=.057); and no effect of coaching on depression. Qualitative analysis indicated Affective responses (gaining perspective and self-awareness); Cognitive responses (goal setting and working through solving problems); and Skills responses (developing reflection abilities and critical thinking). Attributes of coaching included perceiving coaching as a positive, individualized and supportive experience that students were highly likely to access again. ConclusionsCoaching holds promise as an intervention offered to medical students to reduce stress and anxiety, and provide positive support for students, preparing them for their professional futures. Key PointsO_LIAppreciate the stress and anxiety that medical students manage in medical school. C_LIO_LICoaching is an option that holds promise to support medical students. C_LIO_LICoaching has possible long-term outcomes that could help future physicians navigate their professional paths more effectively. C_LIO_LIStudents value individualized, positive support during medical school C_LI
Scalable synthesis of [8]cycloparaphenyleneacetylene carbon nanohoop using alkyne metathesis

Large scale synthesis of cycloparaphenyleneacetylenes has been challenging due to low macrocyclization yields and harsh aromatization methods that often decompose strained alkynes. Herein, a cis-stilbene-based building block is subjected to alkyne metathesis macrocylization. The following sequence of alkene-selective bromination and dehydrobromination afforded a [8]cycloparaphenyleneacetylene derivative in high yield with good scalability. X-Ray crystal structure and computational analysis revealed a unique same-rim conformation for the eight methyl groups on the nanohoop.
Spatial and Density Arrangements

Research efforts on and use of spatial arrangements, spatial and density arrangements, and variation of intercropped experiments are many and varied. The information that is available is scattered and fragmented throughout published literature. The reader is referred to Mead (1980), Mead and Riley (1981), Mead and Stern (1980), and Veevers and Zafar-Yab (1980, 1982) for spatial arrangements and to Neider (1962), Huxley and Maingu (1978), Wahua and Miller (1978), Willey (1979), and Mead (1979) for density and/or spatial arrangements of intercropping experiments.
Learning about mammalian gene regulation from functional enhancer assays in the mouse

Enhancer biology is emerging as a critical area of research that informs studies of evolution, development, and disease. From early experiments that defined and mapped the first enhancers to recent enhancer models of human disease, functional experiments in the mouse have played a central role in revealing enhancer biology. Three decades of in vivo enhancer studies in mouse have laid the groundwork for the current understanding of mammalian enhancers, demonstrating the developmental and tissue-specific activity of enhancers and illuminating general features of enhancer evolution and function. Recent studies offer an emerging perspective on the importance of chromosomal context, combinatorial enhancer activity, and the functional consequences of enhancer sequence variation. This review describes the basic principles of functional testing in mouse, summarizes the contributions these studies have made to our understanding of enhancer biology, and describes limitations and future outlook of in vivo mouse enhancer studies.
Ecology and Diversity of Methylotrophic Organisms

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews information on the ecology and diversity of microorganisms that oxidize reduced one-carbon compounds. The presence of methane-oxidizing bacteria in nature has been determined by colony counts and by measurements of methane oxidation. The types of intracytoplasmic membrane structures found in methylotrophs have been subdivided into two basic types. Type I bacteria contains bundles of disk-shaped membrane vesicles distributed throughout the cell. Type II bacteria contain a system of paired membranes throughout the cell or concentrated at the periphery. Facultative methylotrophs that use methanol as a carbon and energy source and assimilate formaldehyde via the serine pathway can be divided into those that use the glyoxylate cycle to regenerate the one-carbon acceptor molecule from acetyl-CoA, and those that lack isocitrate lyase (Icl). The development of a transformation system in M. organophilum has aided in mapping mutants that are deficient in enzymes uniquely involved in one-carbon metabolism, methanol dehydrogenase, formaldehyde dehydrogenase, serine-glyoxalate aminotransferase, hydroxypyruvate reductase, glycerate kinase, and a glyoxalate activated serine transhydroxymethylase.