cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Overview of the Issues

The responsibility of the present to the future is an abiding concern in human affairs. Much of our best effort is devoted to the upbringing of children, and they exercise a primary claim on our love and affection. The care, socialization, and education of the young is by far the largest “investment project” undertaken by any society. We work and build for the future, and strive to leave behind tangible legacies even beyond what we bequeath to our offspring. The onset of anthropogenic climate change challenges our link to the future in a very direct way — actions that are taken (or not taken) today will have an impact, possibly a decisive impact, on the condition of the natural world that will be inherited by those who follow us. While this is not a uniquely new “policy problem” (many of the great social and political issues have to do with matters affecting succeeding generations), climate change threatens human well-being across very long time spans in ways that are historically unprecedented.
High-resolution, large dynamic range fiber-optic thermometer with cascaded Fabry-Perot cavities.

The paradox between a large dynamic range and a high resolution commonly exists in nearly all kinds of sensors. Here, we propose a fiber-optic thermometer based on dual Fabry–Perot interferometers (FPIs) made from the same material (silicon), but with different cavity lengths, which enables unambiguous recognition of the dense fringes associated with the thick FPI over the free-spectral range determined by the thin FPI. Therefore, the sensor combines the large dynamic range of the thin FPI and the high resolution of the thick FPI. To verify this new concept, a sensor with one 200 μm thick silicon FPI cascaded by another 10 μm thick silicon FPI was fabricated. A temperature range of −50°C to 130°C and a resolution of 6.8×10−3°C were demonstrated using a simple average wavelength tracking demodulation. Compared to a sensor with only the thick silicon FPI, the dynamic range of the hybrid sensor was more than 10 times larger. Compared to a sensor with only the thin silicon FPI, the resolution of the hybrid sensor was more than 18 times higher.
An Integrative Framework for Problem-Based Learning and Action Learning

Experiential learning methods for leadership development have grown in popularity, but empirical research to support design, implementation, and ongoing evaluation has not kept pace with the demand for these programs. Problem-based learning (PBL) and action learning (AL) are two examples of these interventions used for developing agile practitioners while solving challenges found in the workplace. Addressing the complexity of these approaches, this article presents a framework that integrates PBL and AL design features to facilitate research into these similar interventions for management and leadership development. The PBL and AL literatures are compared to reveal analogous characteristics and to highlight gaps in research. The integrative framework is applied to make recommendations for human resource development practitioners conducting program evaluations.
When Do CEOs Delegate Authority? Evidence from Mergers and Acquisitions

We test theoretical predictions on the delegation of CEO authority to senior managers in mergers and acquisitions. We create a novel proxy for delegation from press releases announcing acquisitions. Consistent with theory, we find that CEOs are more likely to delegate when the firm is larger or more complex and are less likely to delegate when they have an informational advantage or have stronger incentives. We find some evidence that delegation is related to trust. Although abnormal announcement returns to acquirer shareholders are not significantly related to delegation, we find some evidence that the returns are higher when the actual delegation decision is the same as the decision predicted by our empirical model.
Effect of intrapancreatic fat on diabetes outcomes after total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation.

Background Pancreatic fat may adversely affect β-cell mass and function, possibly via local release of non-esterified fatty acids, and proinflammatory and vasoactive factors released by adipose tissue. However, the effects of intrapancreatic fat in patients with chronic pancreatitis undergoing total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (TPIAT) have not been studied. This study investigated whether pancreatic fatty infiltration has a negative effect on metabolic outcomes following TPIAT. Methods The association between pancreatic fatty infiltration and diabetes outcomes was studied in 79 patients with low or high pancreatic fat content (LPF [n = 53] and HPF [n = 26], respectively) undergoing TPIAT. Pancreatic fatty infiltration was stratified using gross examinations during isolation and validated with histomorphometry of archived histology samples. Results Fat area percentage in histology samples differed significantly between the LPF and HPF groups (2.1% ± 4.3% vs 10.6% ± 8.9%, respectively; P = 0.0009). Insulin dependence was more common in the HPF group, whereas more patients in the LPF group were insulin independent or on partial insulin supplementation at 1 year (P = 0.022). Furthermore, 1- and 2-h glucose concentrations during mixed-meal tolerance tests were significantly higher in the HPF group (P = 0.032 and 0.027, respectively) and β-scores (a composite measure of islet function and metabolic control) were significantly greater in the LPF than HPF group (6.1 ± 1.7 vs 4.6 ± 2.0; P = 0.034). Conclusions Patients with HPF were more likely to be insulin dependent, with higher postprandial glucose excursion, suggesting that intrapancreatic fat may lead to β-cell dysfunction with detrimental effects on diabetes outcomes after TPIAT.
Snow and Ice Removal Route Optimization in Kentucky

This research describes a geographic information system-based methodology developed for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to improve the efficiency of Kentucky’s snow and ice removal progr...
Identification of predictive cytokine biomarkers of scleroderma via local causal neighborhood methods

Background : Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease with established relationship between immune cytokines and prognosis. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and investigate the causal relationship between cytokines and scleroderma diagnosis and to use this information to identify predictive biomarkers of scleroderma status. Methods : Forty scleroderma positive patients and twenty-four healthy controls have been included in this study. Twenty-nine cytokines implicated in scleroderma have been measured in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of these patients, and eight have been found to be univariately associated with scleroderma status. Results : Using local causal neighborhood learning methods, we have found two cytokines, Osteoprotegerin (OPG), also known as osteoclast genesis inhibitory factor, or tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily member 11B and macrophage inflammatory protein-1 delta, to be causally related to the scleroderma status. Logistic regression predictor based on these cytokines achieves 73% AUC for the task of identifying the scleroderma status. Conclusions : Our results demonstrate the feasibility of developing predictive local causal neighborhood biomarkers of scleroderma status based on bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.
Abstract 17289: A Baffling Heart: a 30 Year-old Man with Biventricular Heart Failure and Severe Pulmonary Hypertension

A thirty year-old man with an unknown surgery for congenital heart disease presented with intermittent chest pain and progressive decline in his exercise tolerance. Cardiovascular examination revealed a soft S1, loud S2 without splitting, right ventricular heave, a sustained and laterally displaced apical impulse and clubbing of his fingers. An echocardiogram showed d-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA), a dilated, sub-pulmonic left ventricle (LV) with reduced function, smaller than expected sub-aortic right ventricle with reduced function, and elevated sub-pulmonic left ventricular systolic pressure without LV outflow tract obstruction. Cardiac MRI revealed d-TGA status post Senning repair, biventricular dysfunction without baffle obstruction, no evidence of repaired atrial or ventricular septal defect or delayed gadolinium enhancement. Cardiac catheterization showed a suprasystemic pulmonary artery pressure, a pulmonary vascular resistance of 18.4 Wood units and a small right to left shunt due t...
Social Media Use among Adolescents Coping with Mental Health.

Within the last 10 years, social media has infiltrated the lives of adolescents in the USA and around the world. According to Pew Research Center (2015), 73% of adolescents have smartphones, 76% of those adolescents being 15–17 years old and 68% being 13–14 years old. Adolescents are gravitating toward social media and integrating it into critical aspects of their identities. A crucial aspect of social media use is how adolescents struggling with mental health issues are coping, relieving, and reacting on social media (Cavazos-Rehg in Crisis, 38(1), 1–9, 2016). The breadth of research on adolescent and social media use focuses on its negative impacts on mental health. While potential harms such as social filters, triggers, and cyber bullying or trolling exist, there are also plenty of potential benefits, for example, healthy self-expression, a sense of community and connectivity, and anonymously accessing mental health resources. It is imperative that educational professionals and school-based mental health providers familiarize and educate themselves on social media use by adolescents. Future research should focus on integrating social media use into identifying individuals in need of mental health services, interventions, and disseminating credible and professional resources.
Healthcare Utilization and Comorbidities Associated with Anorectal Malformations in the United States.

Objective To determine nationwide prevalence and healthcare utilization in children with anorectal malformations and associated anomalies over a 6-year period. Study design We used the Kids' Inpatient Database for the years 2006, 2009, and 2012 for data collection. International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes were used to identify patients with anorectal malformations and associated anomalies. Results A total of 2396 children Conclusions This large, major nationally representative study shows that majority of children with anorectal malformations have additional congenital anomalies that deserve prompt recognition. The high complexity and need for lifelong multidisciplinary management is associated with substantial healthcare expenditure. This information complements future healthcare resource allocation and planning for management of children with anorectal malformations.
Role of Microbes in Climate Smart Agriculture

Impact of climate change on agriculture and food production is already perceptible. In the present scenario of rising temperature, changing patterns of rain; increasing occurrence of extreme climatic events such as cyclone, drought and flood; the concept of climate smart agriculture (CSA) originated in order to make agriculture more resilient to climate change. Sustainably enhancing efficiency, adaptation to and mitigation of climate change are three pillars of CSA. Microorganisms are vital to several ecological processes in agroecosystem such as organic matter decomposition, nutrient cycling, N2 fixation, phosphate solubilization, nutrient acquisition and recently discovered probiotics role. Appropriate management and exploitation of beneficial microbial functions such as use of biofertilizer, biopesticide, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, etc. help in achieving sustainable goal and alleviating adverse impact on environment. Microorganism can be used to facilitate adaptation to climate change by promoting growth and development and imparting resistance against several abiotic stresses. Soil microbes and their metabolic activity can influence land–atmosphere carbon exchanges in numerous ways, while these can be broadly divided into different groups as those that affect the ecosystem by methane and carbon dioxide uptake and that also control carbon loss from the soil through methane production and respiration. The role of microbe as a source and sink of greenhouse gas can be exploited to devise mitigation strategy for climate change.
State transition analysis to detect malicious program behavior

In this paper, we present a new method to detect malicious program behavior in general based on computer audit data. Ilgun, et al. have proposed USTAT (State Transition Analysis Tool for UNIX), a rule-based state transition analysis approach to solve this problem. Also, Hofmeyr and Forrest have used the N-grams method to classify program behavior traces. Here we propose an improved method that uses state transition probabilities to classify audit data. This method is more flexible and dynamic, and could be applied to a wider range of data.
The Sun, the Moon, and Mathematics

I hesitate to pick a fight with Walt Whitman, who’s dead and can’t defend himself, but I have to wonder why he was so turned off by a few proofs and figures. The learn’d astronomer, after all, was just doing his job, trying to find out how things work. I have a feeling, though, that this poem is comforting to many people, who become dismayed, perhaps even becoming “tired and sick,” when confronted by science. To hear Walt tell it, the universe somehow became less “mystical” when Copernicus made his discoveries about the solar system. Well, I’m sorry, Mr. Whitman, but I don’t believe knowing the laws of celestial mechanics need affect a person’s ability to react on an emotional level to the beauty of the night sky. Indeed, if anything, it’s the other way round. That other great poet had it right, it seems to me: Truth is beauty (and beauty truth)—and a good thing it is for all of us, poets and astronomers alike.
Philosophy of action: Davidson, von Wright, and the debate over causation

Philosophy of Action was an active field in the decade under review. Renewed interest in this area among so-called analytic philosophers was due largely to Wittgenstein [1] and Ryle [2], and their influence dominated the work done in this area in the fifties and early sixties by such philosophers as Anscombe [3], Peters [4], Winch [5], Melden [6], and Kenny [7], all of whom opposed a causal theory of human action, attacking not only behavioristic and physiological accounts of the causation of action but traditional philosophical theories which saw volitions, motives, beliefs, etc., as causes of action. Although allowing that it may not always be wrong to speak of the causation of action, they rejected the claim that Humean or nomic causation — causation understood as a lawful relation between distinct events — is essential to the understanding or explanation of intentional action. While there were important differences among these philosophers, they were unanimous in rejecting a causal theory of human action, and this rejection was overwhelmingly dominant as the decade began.
Internalization of Thin-Ideal and Muscular-Ideal

The construct of internalization has a long history in psychology dating to the early work of Freud. This article reviews the contemporary theorizing of this construct and its application to body image. Internalization of appearance ideals, as it relates to the field of body image, has been defined as the personal acceptance and endorsement of prevailing notions of beauty and attractiveness. This article focuses on two specific aspects of appearance internalization – thinness and muscularity. Theoretical models, measurement strategies, and treatment/prevention approaches related to an internalization of thinness and muscularity ideals are reviewed. Limitations of the current knowledge base and indications for future research are outlined.
Construction of Highly Transmissible Mammalian Cloning Vehicles Derived from Murine Retroviruses

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the construction of highly transmissible mammalian cloning vehicles derived from murine retroviruses. The retrovirus vector system described appears to possess a number of distinct advantages over currently available methods for introducing DNA sequences into mammalian cells. Perhaps, the single most powerful feature of the system is the extraordinarily efficient means of gene transfer afforded by the infection of recipient cells with intact virus particles. In sharp contrast to other techniques such as DNA-mediated transformation and protoplast fusion, the efficiency of transforming cells using retroviral vectors can be 100%. This property may be particularly useful in cases in which it is necessary to transform an entire population of cells, for example, when attempting to introduce sequences into a minor component of a heterogeneous cell population, such as the stem cells in murine bone marrow. A related property of the system is the ability to represent a large number of independent cloned DNA molecules as infectious viruses.
Social Psychology of Religion

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph. "John Polkinghorne’s description of God offers an insight into what supports his belief in God. Each religion has a specific description of who God is understood to be. Polkinghorne believes that God must have a purpose, and a mind with which to ponder this purpose and make decisions. While we may not be clear on what this purpose is and to what extent this mind reaches, Polkinghorne believes that the universe would not otherwise exist without the presence of God. He does not explain why God’s presence is veiled, but there has never been a case of anyone claiming to be the almighty creator and proving it. Many religions teach that God is always with us, (in our hearts, in our minds, in the flowers, etcetera,) and that we must have faith even though we cannot see or hear him. Because of this “veiled presence,” he is worthy of worship. The idea of God fosters hope among believers. Those who believe are comforted in knowing that this hidden being has a plan for everyone, and while we might not know what that plan is, we have faith that God will us pull through somehow." This research paper is available in Verbum: http://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/verbum/vol6/iss1/11 Social Psychology of Religion
Progranulin: A conductor of receptors orchestra, a chaperone of lysosomal enzymes and a therapeutic target for multiple diseases.

Abstract Progranulin (PGRN), a widely expressed glycoprotein with pleiotropic function, has been linked to a host of physiological processes and diverse pathological states. A series of contemporary preclinical disease models and clinical trials have evaluated various therapeutic strategies targeting PGRN, highlighting PGRN as a promising therapeutic target. Herein we summarize available knowledge of PGRN targeting in various kinds of diseases, including common neurological diseases, inflammatory autoimmune diseases, cancer, tissue repair, and rare lysosomal storage diseases, with a focus on the functional domain-oriented drug development strategies. In particular, we emphasize the role of extracellular PGRN as a non-conventional, extracellular matrix bound, growth factor-like conductor orchestrating multiple membrane receptors and intracellular PGRN as a chaperone/co-chaperone that mediates the folding and traffic of its various binding partners.
A systematic review of interventions for older adults living in jails and prisons

Objectives: The population of older adults in prison is the fastest growing demographic. Older inmates are more likely to have chronic medical conditions and cognitive decline, but these conditions occur earlier and may be more complex for older inmates. Specialized interventions to manage the unique health and mental health needs of older inmates are important to improve health and reduce burden on criminal justice systems. The aim of this research is to conduct a systematic review of empirically-tested interventions to improve the health or mental health of older adults living in jail or prison.Method: We conducted a systematic review of the literature to answer two research questions: (1) what interventions designed to improve the health or mental health of older adults living in jail or prison have been empirically tested? and (2) what are the effects of the interventions on inmates' physical or mental health?Results: Twenty-four articles were identified; seven met inclusion criteria. Several manuscripts discussed the same intervention, so the review identified five unique interventions for incarcerated older adults. The interventions are discussed including their main findings and limitations.Conclusion: Results support the need for research on interventions for incarcerated older adults. Intervention during incarceration can have a great impact on older adults' health and mental health during incarceration and upon reentry to the community. Directions for future research suggest the need for collaboration between practitioners and researchers in order to increase knowledge of what types of intervention work for older inmates living in jails and prisons.
B-Cell Responses in Humanized Mice: The Glass is Half Full

Human humoral immune responses in humanized-mouse models have historically been weak and poorly responsive to infections or immunizations. However, newer models of humanized mice, such as those generated in severely immunodeficient mice with a targeted disruption of the IL2rγ c gene have recently been reported to produce antigen-specific antibodies, with some of these antibodies capable of neutralizing pathogens. This chapter will review recent progress in the capacity of the latest generation of humanized-mouse models to recapitulate the human humoral immune system, in terms of human B-cell ontogeny, lymphoid organ microarchitecture, and the generation of human immunoglobulins. Problems do persist in each of these areas that at present continue to impose some limitations on the ability of humanized mice to model human humoral immunity. On the other hand, we highlight current grounds for optimism about B-cell responses in these models, and see the current state of the art as “the glass being half full,” rather than being half empty.
Is Reasoning a Fruitful Path to Changing Minds

ABSTRACTThe thinking underlying people’s positions on complex issues is often of limited scope or complexity, yet changing minds is notoriously difficult. We investigated the thinking underlying pe...
Qualitative analysis of the care of children in hospital in four countries-Part 1.

As part of a large study of the care of children in Australian, British, Indonesian, and Thai hospitals, qualitative methods were used to examine differences influenced by culture. Two groups were surveyed: parents of hospitalized children, and staff caring for them. Vignettes were used to invoke discussion, and content analysis was used to examine the data. Subjects were interviewed singly, or in focus groups. These interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The data were explored by using content analysis to extract themes of understanding of cultural experiences. This article is the first of a two-part series, and includes a review of the literature, description of the methods used, and results of the parents' interviews. The staff results and discussion will be published in Part 2. Analysis revealed that parents in all countries were primarily concerned with treating the child's illness and the child's recovery. Parents were concerned with their work (employment), but this was a much larger consideration in Indonesia and Thailand, where no social security systems exist, than in Australia and Britain. Communication with staff was the most commonly mentioned theme for parents, indicating that irrespective of the culture in which the care was given, good communication between parents and staff was of paramount importance.
Salamander retinal ganglion cell responses to rich stimuli

The retina9s phenomenological function is often considered to be well-understood: individual retinal ganglion cells are sensitive to a projection of the light stimulus movie onto a classical center-surround linear filter. Recent models elaborating on this basic framework by adding a second linear filter or spike histories, have been quite successful at predicting ganglion cell spikes for spatially uniform random stimuli, and for random stimuli varying spatially with low resolution. Fitting models for stimuli with more finely grained spatial variations becomes difficult because of the very high dimensionality of such stimuli. We present a method of reducing the dimensionality of a fine one dimensional random stimulus by using wavelets, allowing for several clean predictive linear filters to be found for each cell. For salamander retinal ganglion cells, we find in addition to the spike triggered average, 3 identifiable types of linear filters which modulate the firing of most cells. While some cells can be modeled fairly accurately, many cells are poorly captured, even with as many as 4 filters. The new linear filters we find shed some light on the nonlinearities in the retina9s integration of temporal and fine spatial information.
Na+/Ca2 + Exchange and Pacemaker Activity of Interstitial Cells of Cajal.

Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) are pacemaker cells that generate electrical slow waves in gastrointestinal (GI) smooth muscles. Slow waves organize basic motor patterns, such as peristalsis and segmentation in the GI tract. Slow waves depend upon activation of Ca2+-activated Cl- channels (CaCC) encoded by Ano1. Slow waves consist of an upstroke depolarization and a sustained plateau potential that is the main factor leading to excitation-contraction coupling. The plateau phase can last for seconds in some regions of the GI tract. How elevated Ca2+ is maintained throughout the duration of slow waves, which is necessary for sustained activation of CaCC, is unknown. Modeling has suggested a role for Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) in regulating CaCC currents in ICC, so we tested this idea on murine intestinal ICC. ICC of small and large intestine express NCX isoforms. NCX3 is closely associated with ANO1 in ICC, as shown by immunoprecipitation and proximity ligation assays (PLA). KB-R7943, an inhibitor of NCX, increased CaCC current in ICC, suggesting that NCX, acting in Ca2+ exit mode, helps to regulate basal [Ca2+] i in these cells. Shifting NCX into Ca2+ entry mode by replacing extracellular Na+ with Li+ increased spontaneous transient inward currents (STICs), due to activation of CaCC. Stepping ICC from -80 to -40 mV activated slow wave currents that were reduced in amplitude and duration by NCX inhibitors, KB-R7943 and SN-6, and enhanced by increasing the NCX driving force. SN-6 reduced the duration of clustered Ca2+ transients that underlie the activation of CaCC and the plateau phase of slow waves. Our results suggest that NCX participates in slow waves as modeling has predicted. Dynamic changes in membrane potential and ionic gradients during slow waves appear to flip the directionality of NCX, facilitating removal of Ca2+ during the inter-slow wave interval and providing Ca2+ for sustained activation of ANO1 during the slow wave plateau phase.
Matrix Metalloproteinase 13 from Satellite Cells is Required for Efficient Muscle Growth and Regeneration.

Background/aims Cell migration and extracellular matrix remodeling underlie normal mammalian development and growth as well as pathologic tumor invasion. Skeletal muscle is no exception, where satellite cell migration replenishes nuclear content in damaged tissue and extracellular matrix reforms during regeneration. A key set of enzymes that regulate these processes are matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)s. The collagenase MMP-13 is transiently upregulated during muscle regeneration, but its contribution to damage resolution is unknown. The purpose of this work was to examine the importance of MMP-13 in muscle regeneration and growth in vivo and to delineate a satellite cell specific role for this collagenase. Methods Mice with total and satellite cell specific Mmp13 deletion were utilized to determine the importance of MMP-13 for postnatal growth, regeneration after acute injury, and in chronic injury from a genetic cross with dystrophic (mdx) mice. We also evaluated insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) mediated hypertrophy in the presence and absence of MMP-13. We employed live-cell imaging and 3D migration measurements on primary myoblasts obtained from these animals. Outcome measures included muscle morphology and function. Results Under basal conditions, Mmp13-/- mice did not exhibit histological or functional deficits in muscle. However, following acute injury, regeneration was impaired at 11 and 14 days post injury. Muscle hypertrophy caused by increased IGF-1 was blunted with minimal satellite cell incorporation in the absence of MMP-13. Mmp13-/- primary myoblasts displayed reduced migratory capacity in 2D and 3D, while maintaining normal proliferation and differentiation. Satellite cell specific deletion of MMP-13 recapitulated the effects of global MMP-13 ablation on muscle regeneration, growth and myoblast movement. Conclusion These results show that satellite cells provide an essential autocrine source of MMP-13, which not only regulates their migration, but also supports postnatal growth and resolution of acute damage.
Aging Condition Quantitative Evaluation Method of Composite Insulators with NMR and FLIR

In this paper, the composite insulators with different operating times were used as samples. The relationship between transverse relaxation time, Si-CH3 absorption peak area and operating time was analyzed by NMR and IR spectroscopy. The normalized method was used to compare transverse relaxation time and Si-CH3 absorption peak area, where the results showed that the two have obvious linear correlation, reflecting the consistency of the aging of insulators. Finally, according to the hydrophobicity grade test, the aging grade of insulator samples was divided, and the mathematical statistics was used to calculate the aging grade division from the sample data, which provided a reference for the quantitative evaluation of the aging degree of the composite insulator.
Gene expression profile analysis of aromatase inhibitor-resistant MCF-7aro cells

1275 While the new generation of aromatase inhibitors have shown to be useful in the treatment of hormonal responsive breast cancer for postmenopausal women, the emergence of drug cross resistance to such endocrine therapy needs to be overcame. To unravel the molecular mechanisms of aromatase inhibitor resistance and compare these to that of tamoxifen resistance, MCF-7aro cell lines that are resistant to anastrozole, letrozole or tamoxifen have been generated in our laboratory. The MCF-7aro breast cancer cell line is aromatase over-expressing and ER-positive. We have performed differential expression profile analysis using Affymetrix Human Genome U133A on inhibitor-resistant MCF-7aro cells. The intensities of the probe signals on the GeneChips were statistically normalized following a background noise subtraction, and were analyzed using algorithms in R/Bioconductor. We compared the more than 22,000 gene expressions using two-sample t-tests and applied the Benjamini-Yekutieli p-value correction to control the false discovery rate. Using a minimum fold change criteria of 2.0 and an adjusted p-value cutoff of 0.05, We then compared these results to our previous results with inhibitor-responsive cells, in order to find genes that behave differently between the two groups. The number of genes we found that were up-regulated (down-regulated) were 4 (5),10 (13), 8 (13), for androgen versus anastrozole, letrozole, and tamoxifen, respectively. The genes identified as statistically significant were classified based on their expression patterns and biological function/pathways. We believe that the results of this study serve as the first step in identifying unique expression patterns corresponding to drug resistance, and that this will ultimately be useful in predicting and overcoming drug resistance when treating breast cancer patients.
Modeled physiological mechanisms for observed changes in the late Paleozoic plant fossil record

Abstract Earth’s tropical forests repeatedly restructured on 105- to 107-year timescales during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (340–280 Ma). Although it is established that these ancient plants responded to an evolving climate, their thresholds for physiological functioning and how such thresholds led to vegetation-climate feedbacks warrants further investigation. Here, we evaluate the physiology of seven plant types that dominated Middle Pennsylvanian through early Permian tropical lowland ecosystems. We apply taxa-specific leaf morphologic and geochemical measurements, time-specific atmospheric pCO2, pO2, and O2:CO2, and site-specific meteorology to Paleo-BGC, a modified version of the process-based ecosystem model Biome-BGC 4.2.1. Our study reveals four major findings. (1) The existence of pCO2 and precipitation thresholds for loss of physiological viability that provide a mechanism for replacement of wet-adapted lycopsids and medullosans by marattialean tree ferns, which were tolerant of periodic drought, and the subsequent dominance of seasonally dry-adapted cordaitaleans and conifers. These thresholds are relevant to both vegetation turnovers within glacial-interglacial cycles of the Pennsylvanian and to major restructuring events through the later Carboniferous and early Permian coincident with intensifying paleotropical aridification. (2) Under drier conditions, the combination of higher drought tolerance and primary productivity for marattialean tree ferns, conifers, and cordaitaleans provided an ecophysiological advantage over lycopsids and medullosans. (3) Our results further indicate that, although the shift to more drought-tolerant plants in the Late Pennsylvanian and early Permian could have led to increased biomass and surface runoff, their ability to affect climate was likely limited by aridity and changes in vegetation density. (4) Finally, our modeling shows that atmospheric pCO2 has a larger effect on physiological functioning than pO2. These findings highlight the unique insight into extinct plant function gained by coupling empirical measurements with ecosystem modeling and, in turn, the potential to physiologically constrain paleo-vegetation shifts previously inferred from the paleobotanical record.
Fertility Preservation: A Tale of Two Testicles.

OBJECTIVE The transgender population has long been marginalized by society. Societal stigmata, fear to seek care, and dearth of provider knowledge regarding transgender health issues has caused disparities to widen. The purpose of this case study is to call to attention the often-overlooked aspect of transgender care: the importance of fertility preservation prior to undergoing therapy. METHODS 13 and 16-year old genetically XY patients presented to a tertiary care facility for gender affirmation. Both self-identified as female since a young age and successfully socially transitioned. Impending onset and/or progression of puberty prompted patients to seek hormonal therapy. Fortunately, physicians in transgender clinic were aware of fertility struggles after undergoing hormone therapy and referred for consultation. RESULTS Sperm cryopreservation via open gonadal biopsy, tissue cryopreservation, and semen sample were discussed. Though invasive, biopsy relieves patients of the psychological impact of sample production and is indicated in pubertal immaturity. After further discussion with patients and parents, the 13-year-old decided to undergo testicular biopsy while the 16-year old opted for semen sample. Both patients had success and their genetic material was cryopreserved for future assisted reproduction. CONCLUSION Gender affirming procedures and hormone therapy affect the long-term reproductive potential of transgender individuals. While cost concerns and insurance coverage regarding oncofertility is a prominent area of discussion, the transgender community is often excluded. With more individuals beginning medical and surgical therapy at a younger age, fertility preservation discussions are essential but often overlooked, depriving these individuals the joy of becoming a biological parent.
Learning Algorithms and Discrimination

In most accounts of Artificial Intelligence (AI), humans are pitted against the machines, and concerns about relative physical and mental strength populate the discussion. There are, however, numerous processes and shifts that AI stimulates within the human context that are equally essential to uncover as AI technology gradually penetrates various markets. In this chapter, we focus on data-driven discrimination, explaining its origins, scope, and current treatment under the law. We explain how errors, biases, and opaqueness are endemic to AI systems, which rely heavily on data collected and analyzed. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether and to what extent existing anti-discrimination doctrines such as disparate impact apply to biases resulting from algorithmic systems. We also discuss examples of discriminating AI technologies in five dominant fields: finance, employment and labor, health and healthcare, education, and the legal system. These examples demonstrate that while AI enjoys a scientific glory of improving human performance, streamlining operations, and saving costs, AI also suffers from inherent biases and inaccuracies that risk perpetuating social injustices by systemizing discrimination. To capitalize on the innovative benefits that AI has to offer and mitigate discriminatory concerns, proper scholarly awareness, industry cooperation, and regulatory attention must accompany the introduction of AI technologies.
Gaming and Confrustion Explain Learning Advantages for a Math Digital Learning Game

Digital learning games are thought to support learning by increasing enjoyment and promoting deeper engagement with the content, but few studies have empirically tested hypothesized pathways between digital learning games and learning outcomes. Decimal Point, a digital learning game that teaches decimal operations and concepts to middle school students, has been shown in previous studies to support better learning outcomes than a non-game, computer-based instructional system covering the same content. To investigate the underlying causes for Decimal Point’s learning benefits, we developed log-based detectors using labels from text replay coding of the data from an earlier study. We focused on gaming the system, a form of behavioral disengagement that is frequently associated with worse learning outcomes, and confrustion, an affective state that combines confusion and frustration that has shown mixed results related to learning outcomes. Results indicated that students in the non-game condition engaged in gaming the system at nearly twice the level of students in the game condition, and gaming the system fully mediated the relation between learning condition and learning outcomes. Students in the game condition demonstrated higher levels of confrustion during the self-explanation phase of the game, and while confrustion was not related to learning outcomes in the game condition, it was associated with better learning outcomes in the non-game condition. These results provide evidence that digital learning games may support learning by reducing behavioral disengagement, and that the effects of confusion and frustration may vary depending on digital learning context.
Recognizing creative visual design: multiscale design characteristics in free-form web curation documents

Multiscale design is the widely practiced use of space and scale to visually explore and articulate relationships. Free-form web curation (FFWC) is an approach to supporting multiscale design, involving creative strategies of collecting content, assembling it to juxtapose and organize, sketching, writing, shifting perspective to navigate, and exhibiting to share and collaborate. Our long term goal is to support design students with automatic, on demand feedback. We introduce a spatial clustering technique for recognizing multiscale design characteristics---scales and clusters---in FFWC documents. We perform quantitative evaluation to establish baseline performance. We contribute to human-centered AI by advancing fundamental human aspirations, through automatic recognizers of creative design, e.g., for representing and communicating abstract ideas. We develop implications, (1) for supporting people using content recognition in creative contexts, such as design education; (2) for overcoming design fixation with human-centered AI; and (3) for recognizing multiscale design characteristics.
Looking Back to Move Forward: A Review of the Evolution of Research in International Marketing Channels

Over the past fifty years, the scope of research on international marketing channels has significantly evolved. From an early focus on factors influencing the expansion of marketing channels internationally, the literature now investigates a myriad of topics related to the challenges of selecting channel structures and managing channel relationships. This article investigates the evolution of international marketing channels research by reviewing 353 international channels-related articles published from 1965 to 2014 under a periodization approach. The assessment of the state and evolution of the literature is used as a foundation for the identification of emerging themes that will move the field of international marketing channels forward.
Indications for Imaging the Small Bowel

The small bowel has historically been difficult to evaluate because of its length and tortuosity. Over the last several years, small bowel imaging modalities have improved considerably. There has been an explosion of new technologies aimed at diagnosing and managing diseases of the small bowel. New innovative technology initially brought us the capsule endoscope which revolutionized the approach to evaluating the small bowel. Capsule endoscopy allowed for direct inspection of the small bowel mucosa. This was followed by the development of deep enteroscopy techniques, such as double- and single-balloon enteroscopy, which provide the ability to deliver therapy to lesions deep in the small bowel. In addition to these new endoscopic techniques, cross-sectional imaging with CT and MR enterography has improved considerably and provides complementary imaging. These new modalities have been particularly useful in the evaluation of patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, but are also proving to be extremely useful in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, tumors, polyposis syndromes, celiac disease, and other enteropathies. This chapter reviews these new small bowel imaging modalities as well as the diseases they can evaluate and help manage.
Surgical treatment of alcohol-associated chronic pancreatitis: the challenges and pitfalls.

Long-term excessive alcohol consumption is the most common risk factor for the development of chronic pancreatitis. Management of patients with alcohol-associated chronic pancreatitis can be complicated by problems associated with dependency, psychosocial burden, and physical changes like malnutrition and hepatic insufficiency. The records of 372 consecutive patients who underwent lateral pancreaticojejunostomy (LPJ, n = 184), pancreatoduodenectomy (PD, n = 97), or distal pancreatectomy (DP, n = 91) for chronic pancreatitis were retrospectively analyzed. Long-term outcome was assessed by patient survey with a median follow up of 5.5 ± 0.2 years. Of 372 patients, 171 underwent surgery for alcohol-associated chronic pancreatitis. According to patient questioning, the prevalence of alcohol cessation before surgery in the 171 patients was 81 per cent. Operative morbidity in the 171 patients was 20 per cent, 50 per cent, and 26 per cent after LPJ, PD, and DP, respectively, with an overall perioperative mortality rate of 2 per cent. None of the patients developed delirium tremens using an alcohol withdrawal protocol. Continued alcohol abuse before surgery did not affect perioperative morbidity (P > 0.05). Follow up was available for a total of 229 patients, of which 39 per cent with alcohol-associated chronic pancreatitis had died compared with 16 per cent in the nonalcohol group (P 0.05). Continuation of alcohol abuse after operation did not affect success for pain control at follow up (P > 0.05). Surgical treatment of alcohol-associated chronic pancreatitis can be performed with similar morbidity and mortality compared with other forms of chronic pancreatitis. Alcohol cessation is preferred but not mandated to achieve good operative long-term outcome. Caution needs to be taken to prevent postoperative alcohol withdrawal. Long-term follow up with psychosocial support and management of co-existing addictions is important.
Temperature radiation sensors for automotive climate control

We present the different applications with their critical to success parameters and show how the demands can be met using innovative techniques, such as miniaturized sensor assemblies with integrated pre-amplification, ambient temperature compensation and housing with high thermal mass.
A SAT-based decision procedure for mixed logical/integer linear problems

In this paper, we present a method for solving Mixed Logical/ Integer Linear Programming (MLILP) problems that integrates a polynomial-time ILP solver for the special class of Unit-Two-Variable-Per-Inequality (unit TVPI or UTVPI) constraints of the form ax + by ≤ d, where a, b ∈ {-1, 0, 1}, into generic Boolean SAT solvers. In our approach the linear constraints are viewed as special literals and replaced by binary “indicator” variables to generate a pure logical problem. The resulting problem is subsequently solved using a SAT search procedure which invokes the linear UTVPI solver to incrementally check the consistency of the UTVPI constraints whenever any of the indicator variables are assigned to true. The linear UTVPI solver, on the other hand, can possibly pass implications or no-good constraints to the Boolean SAT solver. Checking the consistency of the UTVPI constraints incrementally enables the UTVPI solver to efficiently interact with the different components of the SAT solver. Additionally, several heuristics and encoding methods are proposed to accommodate the special circumstances of activating UTVPI constraints by the SAT solver. Empirical evidence is presented that demonstrates the advantages of our combined method for large problems.
Gadolinium Neutron Capture Therapy

A computer study of the dose distribution for gadolinium neutron capture therapy is carried out to determine its feasibility. Gadolinium is a potential neutron capture therapy (NCT) agent that produces gamma radiation, conversion electrons, and Auger electrons. The dose distribution from neutrons, neutron-induced gammas, and the reaction products from neutron capture in gadolinium were modeled using the Los Alamos National Laboratory Monte Carlo neutron photon computer code. The results of these calculations are that gadolinium has promise as an NCT agent. Using two parallel opposed epithermal neutron beams for a tumor at an 8.0-cm depth with a gadolinium loading of 100[mu]g/g, the tumor to peak normal tissue dose was determined to be 1.48.