cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diversity and Performance

This study measures the performance of U.S. firms initiating same-sex domestic partnership benefit SSDPB policies. The results show that holding these firms upon their SSDPB initiation in a calendar portfolio earns a four-factor annualized excess return alpha of approximately 10% over the 1995--2008 sample period, beating 95% of all professional mutual funds in the United States. This finding is robust to several tests of reverse causality. SSDPB adopters also show significant improvement in operating performance relative to nonadopters. This paper was accepted by Brad Barber, finance.
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy for prostate cancer is cost effective and improves therapeutic ratio.

Radiation therapy is one of the standard treatment options for many prostate cancer patients. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) allows for more conformal dose distributions that can reduce normal tissue toxicity compared with older external beam techniques. There has been a rapid adoption of IMRT between 2001 and 2007 for prostate cancer patients regardless of the patients’ race, socioeconomic status or disease risk classification. IMRT is more expensive than older radiation techniques and has an impact on healthcare spending for prostate cancer.
Differential involvement of brainstem pathways due to fourth ventricular epidermoid cyst: a case study.

Abstract A 66-year-old man presented with progressive dysfunction of bilateral cerebellar hemispheres or its connections, corticospinal tracts and medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) due to a 4th ventricular epidermoid cyst for the past 47 years. Sensory, auditory and blink reflex pathways were clinically and electrophysiologically normal as indicated by clinical examination and normal median nerve somatosensory evoked responses (SER), brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAER) and bunk reflex (BR) studies. These findings were unchanged fifteen months after removal of the lesion. Our findings suggest that 1. (1) in extraaxial brainstem compression, MLF dysfunction can occur, 2. (2) MLF, corticospinal tracts and possibly cerebellum and its connections appear to be mare susceptible to longstanding compression and can be selectively and irreversibly damaged whereas pathways located in their vicinity, subserving SER, BAER and BR are spared, and 3. (3) normal clinical and electrophysiological examination of sensory, auditory and BR pathways in presence of abnormal MLF, corticospinal and cerebellar functions should raise a clinical suspicion of an extraaxial brainstem compressive lesion.
Spalling of Flat Plates by Thermal Shock

A model is presented for the thermal shock damage in plates subjected to a sudden rise in temperature. Spalling is assumed to follow localized buckling caused by the thermally induced compressive stresses above subsurface flaws. The minimum size of flaw required to cause spalling is determined as a function of the material properties of the plate, the temperature rise, the position of the flaw, and the time after the thermal shock. 5 references, 2 figures.
Using optical forces for the characterization of biological cell activities

Optical forces successfully manipulate biological cells and measure small forces such as molecular binding forces. This paper focuses on the use of optical forces for the direct characterization of various activities of biological cells.
Testing of 24 food, drug, cosmetic, and fabric dyes in the in vitro and the in vivo/in vitro rat hepatocyte primary culture DNA repair assays

Twenty-four dyes currently or previously used in the food, drug, cosmetic, and textile industries were tested in the in vitro rat hepatocyte primary culture/DNA repair (HPC/DR) assay and, to a limited extent, in the in vivo/in vitro HPC/DR assay. The positive control, Solvent Yellow 3 (o-aminoazotoluene), and five other dyes (4-dimethylaminobenzeneazo-1-naphthalene, 4-dimethylaminobenzeneazo-2-naphthalene, Direct Blue 53, Acid Blue 9, and 4-dimethylaminostilbene) induced DNA repair in rat hepatocytes both in vitro and in vivo, while 13 of the dyes (Food Red 1, Food Red 5, Food Orange 4, Food Red 7, Acid Red 14, Acid Red 27, Pigment Red 53, Acid Yellow 23, Food Black 1, Food Green 3, Acid Red 51, Acid Blue 74, and Natural Red 4) did not produce any detectable DNA repair in either the in vitro or in vivo/in vitro assays. Direct Blue 14 had weak activity in vitro but none was detected in vivo. In contrast, Solvent Yellow 5 was not active in vitro, but produced a weak positive response in vivo. Negative responses were also obtained for Solvent Yellow 14 and Acid Green 5 in the in vitro assay, whereas the responses produced by these dyes in the in vivo/in vitro assay were judged to be equivocal. An equivocal response was also obtained for Direct Red 28 in the in vivo/in vitro assay as well as in the in vitro assay. These findings provide information about the potential genotoxicity of a number of dyes for which previous genotoxicity data has been inconsistent or inadequate. For some dyes (eg, Solvent Yellow 5), discrepancies between the results obtained in the in vitro and in vivo/in vitro assays may implicate a role for intestinal microflora in their metabolic activation.
The effects of intravesical lidocaine on bladder dynamics of children with myelomeningocele.

Purpose: Other studies have suggested that intravesical lidocaine may temporarily improve bladder dynamics but details of these effects and their application to children have not been examined. We evaluated the effects of intravesical lidocaine on bladder urodynamics of children with myelomeningocele and tried to correlate these effects with subsequent clinical response to oral oxybutynin.Materials and Methods: Charts of children with myelomeningocele who had undergone urodynamic examinations from 1992 to 1998 were reviewed retrospectively. In children with uninhibited contractions or poor compliance 150 to 300 mg. lidocaine were instilled for 8 minutes and cystometry was repeated. Changes in bladder capacity and compliance, number of uninhibited contractions and bladder volume at which pressure of 40 cm. H2O was reached were recorded before and after the lidocaine instillation. Clinical response to subsequent treatment with oral oxybutynin was assessed from chart review.Results: A total of 48 urodynamic ...
Meiotic chromosome pairing in maize is associated with a novel chromatin organization

Three-dimensional light microscopy and the excellent cytological features of maize meiotic chromosomes are used to analyze the early events of chromosome synapsis. We demonstrate that the chromosomes undergo a dramatic structural reorganization prior to synapsis in zygotene. The unique features of prezygotene chromosomes are a partial separation of sister chromatids, an elongation of knob heterochromatin, an increase in surface complexity, a 50% increase in total chromosome volume, and a peripheral localization and alignment of telomeric, but not proximal, loci. At zygotene, chromosome volume decreases and chromosomes appear as single fibers. The specialized prezygotene chromosome morphology may facilitate homology recognition once the homologs have been brought together.
Snackchips in China

This case is intended to work well as an exam or a capstone for a course on decision analysis, simulation, real options, and game theory. It explores a conventional snack-chip marketer's strategy in China for promoting and advertising a recently acquired healthy snack-chip brand in mid-2002. The marketer has some key decisions to make, now and in the future, about a range of marketing expenditures in the context of an exciting emerging market and in the face of a formidable competitive threat from its chief rival. The case allows students to consider how two parties' decisions about marketing expenditures and market entry interact and to extend the notion of a single party's downstream decision (or real option) to multiple parties' "interactive" real options. The case's competitive situation can be modeled as a dynamic game of imperfect information, or a multiperiod decision situation with continuous uncertainties and a strategic interaction embedded downstream. Monte Carlo simulation of both parties' payoffs under equilibrium play in the downstream subgame yields a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium, which entails "interactive" threshold policies for both parties.
2,4-Dithiothymine as a Potent UVA Chemotherapeutic Agent

Substitution of both oxygen atoms in the exocyclic carbonyl groups of the thymine chromophore by sulfur atoms results in a remarkable redshift of its absorption spectrum from an absorption maximum at 267 nm in thymidine to 363 nm in 2,4-dithiothymine (ΔE = 9905 cm–1). A single sulfur substitution of a carbonyl group in the thymine chromophore at position 2 or 4 results in a significantly smaller redshift in the absorption maximum, which depends sensitively on the position at which the sulfur atom is substituted, varying from 275 nm in 2-thiothymine to 335 nm in 4-thiothymidine. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that excitation of 2,4-dithiothymine at 335 or 360 nm leads to the ultrafast population of the triplet state, with an intersystem crossing lifetime of 180 ± 40 fs—the shortest intersystem crossing lifetime of any DNA base derivative studied so far in aqueous solution. Surprisingly, the degree and position at which the sulfur atom is substituted have important effects on the magn...
From state introversion to state extension in Mexico : Modes of emigrant incorporation, 1900-1997

L'A. analyse l'evolution des attitudes des hommes politiques mexicains a l'egard des populations mexicaines emigrees et notamment celles qui sont implantees aux Etats-Unis. Il montre que ceux-ci s'efforcent de maintenir des liens etroits avec ces populations. L'A. estime que la prise en compte des emigres dans le discours des dirigeants politiques et particulierement dans leur approche de la nation mexicaine peut etre assimilee a un processus d'«incorporation». Il se demande si cette strategie d'incorporation ne met pas en peril la legitimite de l'Etat. Il montre que les discours des dirigeants politiques, entre 1917 et 1932, tendaient a inciter les immigres a retourner au Mexique et a lier appartenance nationale et installation sur le territoire national. Entre 1933 et 1987, les dirigeants mexicains se sont efforces d'encourager l'emigration vers l'etranger tout en maintenant des liens etroits avec les populations emigrees. Entre 1988 et 1997, l'Etat mexicain, dans le contexte d'integration economique instaure lors de la signature du NAFTA, s'est attache a consacrer une vision de la nation transcendant le pur cadre territorial
An ethics of composure

To reiterate: neither methodologically nor ontologically does an anthropology of ethics have its ground in the individual. The population of its interpretive universe is instead one of subjects in or passing through positions in environments. It is thus a population not of atomic units but of complex relata. Its subjects are for their part already highly complex. They may be individual human beings (though never human beings in their pure individuality). They may be the individualized subjects of the formally egalitarian society; Homines hierarchici , the holistic dividuals of the caste-structured social system (Daniel 1984; Dumont 1980, 1986); the relationalist subjects that Robbins and many others have encountered in Melanesia (Robbins 2004: 13). They may be human collectives, or even human and non-human collectives or assemblages of one or another kind. Nothing in principle precludes the possibility of a cyborgic ethics, an ethics of quasi-objects (Latour 1993), an ethics of corporations of an economic or of some other sort. The only proviso is that the subject occupying or passing through its position in an environment be at or beyond the threshold of the complexity requisite of any system capable of autopoiesis, though such a requirement is never the sufficient condition of an ethical subject position, even a potentially ethical one. Individual human beings typically display such complexity, yet do so only after a considerable course of socialization has taken place, only after a considerable dose of the intersubjective has already been incorporated, already become part of the self (and hence are never individuals in their pure individuality).
Microvascular retinopathy in the Zucker diabetic fatty rat.

Purpose To determine if quantifiable morphometric signs of retinopathy occur in the Zucker diabetic fatty rat (ZDF/Gmi-fa, formerly designated ZDF/Drt), a partially inbred strain in which the genetic propensity for diabetes is only expressed in obese males. Methods Retired diabetic (ZDF/Gmi-fa) and control lean Zucker (fa/+) breeder rats were examined for quantifiable evidence of microvascular changes of the retinal capillaries by gross examination, trypsin digestion of retinal vessels, and transmission electron microscopy. Results Gross examination of retinas and trypsin digestion of capillaries revealed no differences. Quantitative assessment of capillary cell nuclear density showed that diabetic retinas were hypercellular compared to lean rats (3.888 +/- 0.041 versus 3.304 +/- 0.046 nuclei per 100 microns (mean +/- SE), P = 0.0042). Transmission electron microscopic analysis of retinal capillary basement membrane thickness demonstrated thicker measurements in diabetic animals (mean thickness 21% greater in diabetic rats, P = 0.0307). Conclusions This model may be useful for pharmacologic intervention studies because it is naturally and severely non-insulin-dependent diabetic, there are quantifiable retinal vascular changes, and same-sex litter mates can be used as controls.
Convolutional Code Performance in Impulsive or Burst Noise Channels

We consider the performance of short constraint-length convolutional codes in conjunction with coherent BPSK modulation in impulsive or burst noise channels when an imperfect erasure mechanism is used to exorcise symbols contaminated by noise hits. The erasure mechanism is a simple holepuncher operating on the sampled matched filter outputs and is characterized by a fixed false alarm probability, P F , and a miss probability, P M . This scheme is representative of a large number of erasure declaration strategies. Some general conclusions are drawn on the basis of cutoff rate arguments under an idealized channel modeling assumption. For short constraint-length convolutional codes we provide tight upper bounds on bit error probability performance under the same idealized channel modeling assumptions. These bounds compare favorably with simulation results for both randomly occurring and periodic noise hits. Departures from idealized channel modeling assumptions are investigated through simulation. Results indicate an important distinction between the case of random and periodic noise hits and has implications for the use of interleaving an impulsive or burst noise channels.
Pyramiding white mould resistance between and within common bean gene pools

Singh, S. P., Schwartz, H. F., Teran, H., Viteri, D. and Otto, K. 2014. Pyramiding white mould resistance between and within common bean gene pools. Can. J. Plant Sci. 94: 947–954. White mould caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary is a severe disease of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in North America and similar production regions. Low to high levels of white mould resistance exist in cultivated and wild common bean and the secondary gene pool. But, cultivars with high levels of resistance are not yet available. The objectives of this study were: (1) to combine or pyramid high levels of resistance from multiple-parent populations between and within gene pools, and (2) to compare the response of pyramided breeding lines (PBL) to four isolates of the white mould pathogen with that of known sources of resistance. Two Andean PBL each derived from an Andean intra-gene pool and inter-gene pool, four Middle American pinto bean PBL from one inter-gene pool multiple-parent population, their seven ...
Adaptation of Crop Insurance to Tobacco

AGRICULTURAL leaders and insurance carriers have long ^\ been interested in the possibility of insuring growing crops against unavoidable hazards. Bumper crops in one locality or in one year with partial or total crop losses in other localities or in other years, suggest the desirability of a wider distribution of risks and the possibility of supplementing the lean years with the good years.' In recognition of the economic consequences of crop losses and in view of the need for an orderly arrangement of providing for these losses, Federal crop insurance was made available to wheat growers in 1939 and to cotton growers in 1942.2 Federal crop insurance, as applied to wheat and cotton, is characterized by the following features: (1) Premium and losses are calculated in kind and are payable in kind or in cash equivalents; (2) reserves are carried in the insured commodity which, together with the arrangement for paying premiums and losses in kind, separates production hazards from price movements, and (3) coverage is limited to yields without regard to quality or market values. The writer is especially concerned with whether or not these features could be applied to a plan for crop insurance for tobacco. Also, would yield coverage, without regard to quality, provide the same degree of protection for tobacco growers as it does for wheat and cotton growers? Payments of premiums and losses in kind or in cash equivalents and the operation of a commodity reserve necessitates the conversion of commodities into cash and cash into commodities. Successful execution of these transactions and consequently the workability and adaptability of an "in-kind" plan of insurance are conditioned by the market organization and the general acceptance of grades and grade-price differentials. These requirements are closely associated with homogeneity of the commodity which makes possible the acceptance of uniform grade requirements for the entire producing area. From the standpoint of grades and grade-price
Neoadjuvant Radiotherapy is Associated with R0 Resection and Improved Survival for Patients with Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma Undergoing Surgery: A National Cancer Database Analysis

Neoadjuvant radiotherapy (RT) is increasingly advocated for the management of soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Therefore, this study sought to characterize the impact of neoadjuvant RT on rates of R0 resection and overall survival (OS) in extremity STS patients undergoing surgery. From January 2003 to December 2012, the study identified patients with a diagnosis of extremity STS from the National Cancer Database. After exclusion of patients younger than 18 years, not treated by surgery, who had metastases at diagnosis, intraoperative RT, and missing or unknown data, 27,969 patients were identified. Logistic regression and Cox-proportional hazard analysis were used to compare rates of R0 resection among preoperative, postoperative, and no-RT cohorts and to determine predictors of R0 resection and OS. The mean age of the patients was 59.5 ± 17.1 years, and 45.9% were female. The median tumor size was 10.5 cm. The data showed that 51% of the patients did not receive RT, 11.8% received preoperative RT, and 37.2% received postoperative RT. The rates of R0 resection were 90.1% for the preoperative RT cohort, 74.9% for the postoperative RT cohort, and 79.9% for the no-RT cohort (P < 0.001). The independent predictors for achievement of R0 resection included academic facility type (odds ratio [OR] 1.36; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.20–1.55), histologic subtype, tumor size (OR 0.99; 95% CI 0.99–0.99), Charlson score (OR 0.92; 95% CI 0.84–0.99), and preoperative RT (OR 1.83; 95% CI 1.61–2.07). Both R0 resection and RT (pre- or post-operative) were associated with increased OS. Preoperative RT independently predicts higher rates of R0 resection for patients with extremity STS undergoing surgical resection. Negative surgical margins and pre- or postoperative RT are associated with improved OS.
Anticipatory driven nodal electricity load morphing in smart cities enhancing consumption privacy

Integration of information technologies with the current power infrastructure promises something further than a smart grid: implementation of smart cities. Power efficient cities will be a significant step toward greener cities and a cleaner environment. However, the extensive use of information technologies in smart cities comes at a cost of reduced privacy. In particular, consumers' power profiles will be accessible by third parties seeking information over consumers' personal habits. In this paper, a methodology for enhancing privacy of electricity consumption patterns is proposed and tested. The proposed method exploits digital connectivity and predictive tools offered via smart grids to morph consumption patterns by grouping consumers via an optimization scheme. To that end, load anticipation, correlation and Theil coefficients are utilized synergistically with genetic algorithms to find an optimal assembly of consumers whose aggregated pattern hides individual consumption features. Results highlight the efficiency of the proposed method in enhancing privacy in the environment of smart cities.
Comparing Simultaneous Multi-slice Diffusion Acquisitions

Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) is an important tool that allows non-invasive investigation of the neural architecture of the brain. Advanced dMRI protocols typically require a large number of measurements for accurately tracing the fiber bundles and estimating the diffusion properties (such as, FA). However, the acquisition time of these sequences is prohibitively large for pediatric as well as patients with certain types of brain disorders (such as, dementia). Thus, fast echo-planar imaging (EPI) acquisition sequences were proposed by the authors in [6, 16], which acquired multiple slices simultaneously to reduce scan time. The scan time in such cases drops proportionately to the number of simultaneous slice acquisitions (which we denote by R). While preliminary results in [6, 16] showed good reproducibility, yet the effect of simultaneous acquisitions on long range fiber connectivity and diffusion measures such as FA, is not known. In this work, we use multi-tensor based fiber connectivity to compare data acquired on two subjects with different acceleration factors (R = 1, 2, 3). We investigate and report the reproducibility of fiber bundles and diffusion measures between these scans on two subjects with different spatial resolutions, which is quite useful while designing neuroimaging studies.
Challenges to conducting adolescent HIV prevention services research with court-involved youth

Abstract Multiple assessment studies demonstrate that juvenile offenders are at increased risk for contracting HIV and other STIs relative to their non-offending counterparts. Such data are used to support the implementation of adolescent HIV prevention interventions within the juvenile justice system. Despite the compelling data related to high rates of unprotected sexual activity, pregnancy, STIs, substance use and psychiatric symptoms, there are very few empirically supported HIV prevention interventions for this adolescent subgroup. Using our experience conducting HIV prevention research studies with court-involved, non-incarcerated (CINI) youth we identify salient and unique challenges to consider when conducting HIV prevention intervention research with this population. Obstacles to consider include lack of “buy-in” and engagement from justice staff and families about the need for youth sexual health promotion and HIV prevention services and logistical barriers (time, transportation, space) related to conducting intervention research with a community-based sample of justice-involved youth. We consider these various challenges and provide recommendations for researchers on how to overcome barriers to continue to develop evidence-based HIV prevention services for communities of youth in need.
The Sixth ACM SIGSPATIAL International Workshop on Analysis for Big Spatial Data: Redondo Beach, CA, USA - November 7, 2017

Big data is emerging as an important area of research for data researchers and scientists. This area has also seen significant interest from the industry and federal agencies alike, as evidenced by the recent White House initiative on "Big data research and development". Within the realm of big data, spatial and spatiotemporal data is one of fastest growing types of data. With advances in remote sensors, sensor networks, and the proliferation of location sensing devices in daily life activities and common business practices, the generation of disparate, dynamic, and geographically distributed spatiotemporal data has exploded in recent years. In addition, significant progress in ground, air- and space-borne sensor technologies has led to an unprecedented access to earth science data for scientists from different disciplines, interested in studying the complementary nature of different parameters. Today, analyzing this data poses a massive challenge to researchers.
Intronic Elements Appear Essential for the Differentiation-Specific Expression of Acetylcholinesterase in C2C12 Myotubes

Muscle development involves a complex series of events. Mesodermal progenitor cells commit to become myoblasts, myoblasts fuse and, accompanied by cell cycle arrest, differentiate to myotubes. As a cell culture paradigm to a portion of the differentiation process we have chosen to study murine C2C12 cells. C2C12 myoblasts remain undifferentiated and proliferative when grown in the presence of serum due to cell cycle regulated gene products (1). Myoblasts produce virtually no acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Withdrawal of serum stops cell division and induces fusion of myoblasts into multinucleate myotubes which produce both cell associated and exported AChE.
Source Parameters of the 1957 Aleutian and 1938 Alaskan Earthquakes from Tsunami Waveforms

We invert tsunami waveforms recorded on tide gauges to estimate the source parameters of earthquakes for which little or no seismic data exist, such as the 1957 Aleutian and 1938 Alaskan earthquakes. The 1957 earthquake ruptured a smaller segment of the Aleutian Arc than can be inferred from the aftershock area. The slip was concentrated in the western half of the aftershock zone. We estimate the seismic moment as 88×1020 Nm, or Mw=8.6. The Unalaska Island area did not rupture in the 1957 mainshock and can be considered a seismic gap. The rupture length of the 1938 earthquake was approximately 300 km long. We estimate the seismic moment as 20×1020 Nm, or Mw=8.2. The 1938 rupture did not extend into the Shumagin Islands area. Both the Unalaska Island and Shumagin Islands gaps may have a high potential to rupture in large earthquakes and generate transPacific tsunamis.
Carburization effects on pig iron nugget making

The iron nugget process is an economical, environmentally friendly, cokeless, single-step pig iron making process. Residence-time dependent process requirements for the production of pig iron nuggets at a fixed furnace temperature (1,425°C) were investigated. Depending on the residence time in the furnace, three chemically and physically different products were produced. These products were direct reduced iron (DRI), transition direct reduced iron (TDRI) and pig iron nuggets (PIN). The increase in the carbon content of the structure as a function of residence time was detected by optical microscopy and microhardness measurements. Sufficient carbon dissolution for the production of pig iron nuggets was obtained after a residence time of 40 minutes. The pig iron nuggets produced had chemical and physical properties similar to blast furnace pig iron. They were liquid-state products, and the slag was completely separated from the metal.
The Study of Brain Tumor Stem Cell Migration.

Ninety percent of deaths from solid tumors have been ascribed to the invasion and metastatic dissemination of cancer cells. One of the most fundamental prerequisites of brain tumor stem cell invasion is their ability to penetrate and traverse through the basement membrane and stromal compartments displacing from their original point of origin and repopulating at a distant site and adjacent tissue. In order to propose a successful clinical strategy, the investigation of the molecular determinants of invasion must factor in measurements and predictors of the complexity of brain tumor invasion potential accounting for the physiological scenarios encountered in the tumor niche. This chapter will highlight some laboratory approaches such as: spot assay, 3D chemogradient chambers, Fluoroblok™ tumor invasion, organotypics, and 3D tumor spheroid assays that could help mitigate the investigation of a tumor stem cell's invasion capacity through restrictive 3D environments otherwise seen in vivo.
Suicide Exposure in Law Enforcement Officers.

Objective To examine occupational and personal suicide exposure among Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs) and related mental health outcomes. Methods Law Enforcement Officers (N = 813) completed an online survey about their suicide exposure, whether scenes stayed with them, and current symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. Results Almost all participants (95%) had responded to at least one suicide scene with an average of 30.90 (SD = 57.28) career suicide scenes and 2.17 in the last year (SD = 4.11). One in five (22%) reported a scene that they cannot shake or have nightmares about, and 42.5% reported one scene that stayed with them. Almost three fourths (73.4%) knew someone personally who had died by suicide. There was a significant association between high levels of occupational exposure to suicide and behavioral health consequences including PTSD, persistent thoughts of a suicide scene, and the inability to shake a scene. The inability to shake a scene and having a scene stick with them was associated with increased symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. Conclusions LEOs experience a tremendous amount of exposure to suicide scenes and also have personal exposure. There is a need for training to mitigate the effect of these multiple traumas on their mental health.
Seeking Synergy of Checkpoint Blockade through TGFβ Inhibition

Immunotherapy, including checkpoint blockade, is revolutionizing the treatment of cancers, but efficacy has, however, been limited to a subset of patients and can be of limited duration due to primary and acquired resistance to treatment. An article in this issue shows that inhibiting TGFβ can overcome resistance to blockade of one immune checkpoint, but not another, unless one follows where the mechanism leads.See article by Zhao et al., p. 1459.
Increase in pharmacodynamic tolerance after repeated antidepressant trials in treatment-responsive bipolar I depressed subjects: An exploratory study.

OBJECTIVES This study examined the presence of increased pharmacodynamic tolerance with reduced effectiveness following repeated antidepressant trials over the course of the affective illness in subjects with treatment-responsive bipolar II depression. METHODS Data were derived from the open-label phase of a prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of long-term fluoxetine versus lithium monotherapy in 148 subjects >=18 years old with treatment-responsive bipolar II depression, who were initially administered open-label fluoxetine monotherapy for 12 weeks. Response was defined as >=50% reduction in baseline Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) score, and remission was defined as a final HRSD score =<8. RESULTS Subjects reported a mean (SD) total of 1.61 (1.85) (range: 0-9) prior adequate, antidepressant trials over the course of their affective illness, before study enrollment. There was a 25% reduction in the likelihood of fluoxetine response (p < 0.01) and a 22% lower likelihood of remission (p = 0.02), respectively, with each increase in the number of prior antidepressant treatment trials over the illness course. There was no clinically meaningful correlation between fluoxetine response or remission and any other baseline clinical or demographic variable. Thus, only the number of prior antidepressant trials meaningfully impacted the likelihood of fluoxetine response or remission. CONCLUSIONS Limitations. This was an exploratory study of post hoc, analyses, and the trial was not specifically powered to test the development of increased pharmacodynamic tolerance. Disease heterogeneity or inter-individual differences in antidepressant responsiveness may have influenced fluoxetine effectiveness. Conclusion. These results confirm prior observations of an increased pharmacodynamic tolerance after repeated antidepressant administration, resulting in a step-wise loss of antidepressant effectiveness over the course of the illness.
Appointment scheduling model in healthcare using clustering algorithms

In this study we provided a scheduling procedure which is combination of machine learning and mathematical programming. Outpatients who request for appointment in healthcare facilities have different priorities. Determining the priority of outpatients and allocating the capacity based on the priority classes are important concepts that have to be considered in scheduling of outpatients. Two stages are defined for scheduling an incoming patient. In the first stage, We applied and compared different clustering methods such as k-mean clustering and agglomerative hierarchical clustering methods to classify outpatients into priority classes and suggested the best pattern to cluster the outpatients. In the second stage, we modeled the scheduling problem as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) problem that aims to decrease waiting time of higher priority outpatients. Due to the curse of dimensionality, we used fluid approximation method to estimate the optimal solution of the MDP. We applied our methodology on a dataset of Shaheed Rajaei Medical and Research Center in Iran, and we showed how our models work in prioritizing and scheduling of outpatients.
Dating app use and unhealthy weight control behaviors among a sample of U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study.

Online dating has become increasingly popular over the years. Few research studies have examined the association between dating apps and disordered eating. In this study, we evaluated the association between dating app use and unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCBs) among a sample of U.S. adults. Our sample includes 1769 adults who completed an online survey assessing dating app use and UWCBs in the past year. Survey assessed participants’ self-reported frequency of using dating apps within the past 30 days and engagement in six UWCBs with the purpose of lowering weight or changing their body shape within the past 12 months. UWCBs included vomiting, laxative use, fasting, diet pill use, muscle building supplement use, and use of anabolic steroids. Results of multivariate logistic regression models suggest dating app users had substantially elevated odds of UWCBs compared with non-users (odds ratios [OR] range = 2.7—16.2). These findings were supported by results of additional gender-stratified multivariate logistic regression analyses among women and men. This study’s findings contribute to the limited literature exploring the association between dating app use and adverse health outcomes, particularly UWCBs. While additional longitudinal and representative research is needed, public health professionals ought to explore dating app use as a potential risk factor for UWCBs.
Time variability of the Enceladus plumes: Orbital periods, decadal periods, and aperiodic change

The Enceladus plumes vary on a number of timescales. Tidal stresses as Enceladus revolves in its eccentric orbit lead to a periodic diurnal variation in the mass and velocity of solid particles in the plume. Tidal stresses associated with an orbital resonance with Dione lead to a periodic decadal variation. Aperiodic variations occur on time scales of months, and may be due to ice buildup and flow of the walls of the fissures that connect the ocean to the surface. We document these variations using all the relevant data taken by the ISS instrument from 2005 to 2017. Key questions now include how a 5% peak-to-peak variation in orbital eccentricity, which itself is only 0.0045, could lead to a 2-fold decadal variation in plume properties. Another question is how the plumes stay open if ice builds up every month and clogs the vents. Other questions include why the solid particles exit the vents several times slower than the gas, and why the speeds vary inversely with the mass of the plumes. The Cassini data are in, but the modeling has just begun.
Radioiodine Imaging for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: Not All Radioiodine Images Are Performed Equally.

Background: Radioiodine scanning may help risk stratify patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) during initial and subsequent restaging. To maximize the information obtained from radioiodine scanning, image quality and interpretation should be optimized. However, not all radioiodine scans are performed equally. This illustrated article reviews seven techniques that may significantly improve the information obtained from a radioiodine scan in patients with DTC, which in turn may alter management such as showing regional or distant metastases that were otherwise unknown and/or help classify whether a metastasis is radioiodine avid. Summary: The first of the techniques is spot imaging of anatomical areas of interest using a gamma camera with a parallel-hole collimator. Spot images typically provide superior spatial resolution and enhanced lesion detection compared with whole-body scans using the same equipment. The second technique is spot imaging of the thyroid bed and neck with a pin-hole collimator, further improving spatial resolution. Two other techniques, delayed image acquisition and longer acquisition time, may clarify the nature of indeterminate foci of uptake or areas with negative initial findings. Delayed image acquisition may increase tumor-to-background ratio and thus improves lesion detectability. Longer acquisition times also increase contrast resolution between lesions and background activity, again increasing the detectability of malignant lesions. The fifth technique, adjustment of image brightness/contrast on film or on the computer screen, may reveal previously unobserved subtle differences in counts. The sixth technique, focus-specific history, comprises additional patient information that is specific to a focus of radioiodine uptake and elicited by the nuclear medicine physician or technologist. The goal is to help determine if the focus represents a metastasis or an artifact, which in turn decreases false positives and increases specificity. The seventh technique, single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography, improves contrast resolution and helps localize foci of uptake to anatomical structures. Conclusions: Technique is important to maximize information obtained from radioiodine scans in patients with DTC. With the greater usage and understanding of these seven techniques, physicians will significantly improve the information obtained from a radioiodine scan in patients with DTC, which in turn may alter management and potentially outcomes.
Paraventricular Thalamus Projection Neurons Integrate Cortical and Hypothalamic Signals for Cue-Reward Processing.

Summary The paraventricular thalamus (PVT) is an interface for brain reward circuits, with input signals arising from structures, such as prefrontal cortex and hypothalamus, that are broadcast to downstream limbic targets. However, the precise synaptic connectivity, activity, and function of PVT circuitry for reward processing are unclear. Here, using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging, we find that PVT neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (PVT-NAc) develop inhibitory responses to reward-predictive cues coding for both cue-reward associative information and behavior. The multiplexed activity in PVT-NAc neurons is directed by opposing activity patterns in prefrontal and lateral hypothalamic afferent axons. Further, we find that prefrontal cue encoding may maintain accurate cue-reward processing, as optogenetic disruption of this encoding induced long-lasting effects on downstream PVT-NAc cue responses and behavioral cue discrimination. Together, these data reveal that PVT-NAc neurons act as an interface for reward processing by integrating relevant inputs to accurately inform reward-seeking behavior.
Modeling Defective Erythropoiesis in Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)

Anemia is a significant clinical component of MDS, which results from defective erythropoiesis. By 30 weeks of age, a murine model of MDS based on genetic defects in Nup98-HOXD13 (NHD13) recapitulates the peripheral cytopenias seen in patients, including macrocytic anemia (Balderman et al. 2016, Blood 127:616). We found that these defects in the peripheral blood were correlated with decreases in marrow erythropoiesis at the earliest erythroid-specific progenitor (BFU-E), as well as a decrease in the expansion of downstream erythroblast precursors. Along with a cell-intrinsic defect, erythropoiesis in MDS patients could also be influenced by bone marrow microenvironmental changes. To investigate potential cell-intrinsic and microenvironmental defects, we analyzed erythropoiesis in chimeric mice transplanted with both UBC-GFP+ wildtype bone marrow and either 1) cells from NHD13, or 2) another MDS model based on overexpression of Evi1, or 3) unlabeled wildtype cells, which served as controls. In the two chimeric MDS models, cytopenias were not observed until after 15 weeks post-transplantation. Yet as early as 6 weeks post-transplant, analysis of peripheral blood demonstrated that GFP+ wild-type cells contributed disproportionately to circulating red blood cell (RBCs) in both MDS models. In the bone marrow of chimeric mice with normal hematocrits, we found significant decreases in both MDS-derived and wildtype BFU-E. The maintenance of RBC numbers was achieved by extensive expansion of wildtype erythroid precursors. Concurrently, MDS-derived erythroid precursors failed to expand, as seen in the non-chimeric NHD13 model. At later time-points when cytopenias become evident in the periphery of the chimeric MDS mice, erythropoiesis was still provided by wildtype cells, but the bone marrow intermediates were no longer present in sufficient numbers to prevent anemia. The source(s) of this cell-extrinsic inhibition of erythropoiesis during MDS progression may include the expanding myeloid cell populations derived from the MDS clone, which we found both in the non-chimeric NHD13 model, as well as in both chimeric MDS models. Taken together, these data suggest that MDS leads to an intrinsic block in erythropoiesis and to a progressive expansion of myelopoiesis in the marrow. These changes initially lead to a compensatory increase in erythropoiesis from wild-type cells to preserve normal RBC output, which ultimately fails with continued disease progression. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Ending tuberculosis in the sustainable development era in China: what are the health system challenges? A mixed-methods study

Abstract Background The UN Sustainable Development Goals include ending the tuberculosis epidemic globally by 2030. China is a high burden country of both drug-susceptible and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. This study examined China's progress in meeting the tuberculosis milestones and targets laid out by the WHO End TB Strategy, and analysed key health system challenges to be overcome towards ending the tuberculosis epidemic in China. Methods We used estimates of tuberculosis incidence and number of tuberculosis deaths in China from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016 to conduct current situation analysis and a projection for 2030. We also reviewed national strategy and implementation guidelines in relation to tuberculosis control in China. We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews, including key-informant interviews with decision makers and policy implementers at national and provincial levels (n=4), and in-depth interviews with experts in tuberculosis control (n=3). Senior researchers invited participants to take part in interviews through personal contacts, and undertook the interviews after obtaining verbal consent from the participants. Thematic analysis was applied to identify themes and develop interpretations. Findings Between 1990 and 2016, the estimated tuberculosis incidence declined from 156 cases per 100 000 individuals to 86 cases per 100 000 individuals, and the number of tuberculosis deaths decreased from 178 515 to 40 120, in China. The tuberculosis incidence was projected to drop to 62 cases per 100 000 individuals, and the number of tuberculosis deaths to drop to 17 218 by 2030, both above the WHO 2030 targets of an 80% reduction in tuberculosis incidence (17 cases per 100 000 individuals) and a 90% reduction in the number of tuberculosis deaths (4130), compared with 2015. Of the four key informants, three said that many patients with tuberculosis, particularly multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, suffered from catastrophic payment for tuberculosis care. Qualitative interviews also revealed several key health system challenges in the access to high quality and affordable tuberculosis care, including: (1) insufficient funding and workforce for tuberculosis control; (2) difficulty in scaling up new tuberculosis and multidrug-resistant tuberculosis diagnostic tools; (3) inefficient cooperation across anti-tuberculosis health facilities; and (4) inconsistency among health insurance policies, public hospital reforms, and tuberculosis control strategies. Interpretation China cannot meet the End TB Strategy targets by 2030, unless synergistic tuberculosis control policies and strategies can be developed and implemented, and multi-sector cooperation can be improved to enhance the delivery of tuberculosis care. Funding The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (grant number OOP1148464 ).
Forecast Bias and Capital Reserves Accumulation

Governments create implicit fiscal slack with biased revenue and expenditure forecasts. In turn, they can use implicit fiscal slack to build explicit fiscal slack in reserve funds. Evidence of the relationship between implicit and explicit fiscal slack is growing but focused on the general fund. This study examines that relationship in the unique context of capital funds. With a panel dataset of Kentucky school districts from 2001 to 2013, this study estimates two-way fixed effects panel models and shows mixed evidence of the implicit-explicit fiscal slack relationship across the type of capital fund. Specifically, there are small but statistically significant effects of revenue and expenditure forecast bias on building fund fiscal reserves, but not for other capital funds in Kentucky. The mixed findings can be attributed to the unique institutional context and fund definitions in Kentucky, which helped to foster budgetary flexibility across reserve accounts. Future studies should investigate the implicit-explicit fiscal slack relationship in school districts and general-purpose local governments like cities and counties. To do so, researchers can utilize the framework developed in this study to help build a growing literature on the relationship between government forecasts and slack resources.