cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical and hemodynamic effects of pulmonary artery banding.

Abstract Experience with a large number of pulmonary artery banding procedures performed on diverse groups of patients is presented. A high mortality rate has been observed in patients under 3 months of age, in patients with conotruncal anomalies plus ventricular left to right shunt and in patients with complete atrioventricular canal. The operative mortality rate in patients with ventricular septal defect has improved dramatically in the last few years probably as a result of the combination of later timing of banding and concerted efforts to achieve stable anesthesia, minimal surgical trauma and accurate monitoring of pulmonary and systemic arterial pressures during the procedure. Benefits of pulmonary artery banding, such as improved growth rate, freedom from respiratory infections and improvement in chest roentgenograms and hemodynamic findings, bear a fair correlation with the degree of pulmonary artery constriction (by pressure). Finally, the pulmonary vascular resistance progressively declines in some patients following the pulmonary artery banding, although this response cannot be predicted before surgery. Fibrosis around the pulmonary artery and pericardium is a definite disadvantage inherent in the present technic of banding.
Ta'u and Ofu/Olosega volcanoes: The “Twin Sisters” of Samoa, their P, T, X melting regime, and global implications

The Samoan islands of Ta'u and Ofu/Olosega (Ofol hereafter) are single shield volcanoes that have erupted alkali basalt for the past 70 and 440 kyr, respectively. They are 20 km apart, and are the easternmost subaerial expressions of the Samoan plume. The isotopic data for these islands are published; we report here the first major and trace element data for Ofol. The two islands are similar isotopically and in trace elements. Their high 3He/4He marks them as being a FOZO mantle end-member. By comparing data from both volcanoes, we test the efficacy of melting models in constraining the mantle compositions and their P-T of melting. We show that the mantle sources are similar, with spidergrams that peak at Ta (4× BSE), and Lu ∼0.5× BSE. Melts and mantle sources both have Lu/Hf ratios that are too low to support measured 176Hf/177Hf ratios, pointing to a young enrichment event in the mantle source. Degrees of melting are 6.5% for Ta'u and 5.2% for Ofol. P-T of melting show a wide, overlapping range, but define a precise array; average values are 1475°C—77 km for Ta'u and 1550°C—110 km for Ofol. The deepest P-T estimate is 4.2 GPa and 1550°C. The P-T array is either a melting adiabat, or a mixing line of melts equilibrated at various depths. Kinetic modeling shows melt re-equilibration will be likely for ascent velocities (m/yr) less than 40/(conduit radius in cm)2. P-T estimates for melting may typically be minimum values.
Incident Sleep Disordered Breathing in Old Age

Background. Little is known about progression of and risk factors for sleep disordered breathing (SDB) in old age. We prospectively examined elderly volunteers to understand how changes in body weight are related to SDB for a period of 20–30 years. Methods. Participants were 30 surviving members of a community-based cohort (mean entry age = 57.8) studied over a median follow-up of 23.4 years. SDB was quantified as the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) via in-lab polysomnography from 215 nights, representing 733.3 person-years of follow-up. Weights were recorded in kilograms. We used linear regression to derive individual trajectories of AHI and weight regressed on time. Results. Individuals had relatively low AHI (X = 2.3 [SD = 3.5]) and body mass index (kg/m 2 ; X = 24.6 [SD = 4.6]) at entry. Rates of change in AHI were characterized by positive slopes and linear increases by least squares regression. Mean rate of change was +0.43 events per hour per year, a 3.3% yearly increase relative to the maximum AHI observed for each case. Within individuals, curve fitting indicated statistically significant AHI increases associated not only with increases, but also decreases, in weight. Conclusions. Rates of increase in AHI were larger than for aging reported for other organ systems (eg, autonomic, musculoskeletal, and respiratory), possibly reflecting complex mechanistic determination of SDB in old age. Association be tween decreased weight and increased SDB with advancing years represents an important “proof of concept,” perhaps compatible with failure to maintain airway patency during sleep as a component of generalized muscle weakness in old age.
Metal-enhanced fluorescence-based RNA sensing.

In this communication, we present the proof-of-principle of a new RNA sensing technique, based on metal-enhanced fluorescence, which may improve the potential of solid substrate-based RNA capture assays. In this regard, the detection of RNA is accomplished by annealing a target RNA tagged with a fluorophore to a DNA anchor probe in a single step on a solid surface, where the fluorescence signal is enhanced by silver nanoparticles. Furthermore, the proposed method is highly amenable to high-throughput screening applications and is capable of detecting less than 25 fmol of RNA at a signal-to-noise ratio greater than 20, in several hours compared to that of reverse transcription−PCR at >24 h.
Emerging azole antifungals

Systemic and superficial fungal infections have progressively emerged over the past few decades as an increasing cause of human disease, especially in the immunocompromised host. Control of fungal disease has proved difficult because few risk factors are potentially preventable; the population at highest risk for fungal disease, the immunocompromised patient, has been steadily increasing. There is a clear need for additional safe and effective therapeutic agents for the treatment of systemic fungal disease. A new generation of triazoles that includes voriconazole, posaconazole, ravuconazole and albaconazole has emerged and are presently in different phases of clinical investigation. These new triazoles have demonstrated a broad spectrum of activity, in particular against fungal pathogens previously resistant to previously available antifungals. This review highlights the emerging azole antifungals, both those available and in clinical development, and discusses their prospects for the future.
Submitting the entire gallbladder in cases of dysplasia is not justified

When dysplasia is identified in a gallbladder, many experts recommend submission of the entire gallbladder for histologic examination. We sought to determine if this practice could be justified. We reviewed 16,611 gallbladder resections over an 8-year period, and identified 17 cases of carcinoma (15 primary and 2 metastatic), 9 cases of high-grade dysplasia, 16 cases of low-grade dysplasia, and 81 cases with atypia, not otherwise specified (NOS). Sixteen (94%) of 17 adenocarcinomas were identified and sampled on the initial gross inspection, and the remaining case was identified and sampled on review of the gross specimen. None of the high- or low-grade dysplasias were identified on gross examination, but all were identified as atypical on the initial slide submitted and correctly graded with the submission of 4 additional slides. Eight (89%) of 9 high-grade, 6 (38%) of 16 low-grade, and 1 (1%) of 81 atypia, NOS, cases were subsequently entirely submitted without identification of any new lesion. We conclude that for cases of dysplasia and atypia, NOS, review of the gross specimen and submission of up to 4 additional sections identify all significant lesions, and submission of the entire gallbladder is not justified.
Hydration or dehydration: competing effects of upper tropospheric cloud radiation on the TTL water vapor

Abstract. A tropical channel version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to investigate the radiative impacts of upper tropospheric clouds on water vapor in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). The WRF simulations of cloud radiative effects and water vapor in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere show reasonable agreement with observations, including approximate reproduction of the water vapor "tape recorder" signal. By turning on and off the upper tropospheric cloud radiative effect (UTCRE) above 200 hPa, we find that UTCRE induces a warming of 0.76 K and a moistening of 9% in the upper troposphere at 215 hPa. However, UTCRE cools and dehydrates the TTL, with a cooling of 0.82 K and a dehydration of 16% at 100 hPa. The enhanced vertical ascent due to UTCRE contributes substantially to mass transport and the dehydration in the TTL. The hydration due to the enhanced vertical transport is counteracted by the dehydration from adiabatic cooling associated with the enhanced vertical motion. UTCRE also substantially changes the horizontal winds in the TTL, resulting in shifts of the strongest dehydration away from the lowest temperature anomalies in the TTL. UTCRE increases in-situ cloud formation in the TTL. A seasonal variation is shown in the simulated UTCRE, with stronger impact in the moist phase from June to November than in the dry phase from December to May.
Investigation of the count rate performance of General Electric Advance positron emission tomograph

A series of 2D and 3D count rate measurements have been carried out on the Advance PET system. The measurements include: NEMA standard protocols; simultaneous imaging of two small vials containing [0-15] water and (F-18); a cardiac insert placed in a water filled elliptical tank; two different head sized cylindrical tanks; and a Hoffman 3D phantom. The data were processed with and without deadtime and scatter corrections. Plots were made of the total count rate, randoms, trues+scatter, scatter corrected trues, and noise equivalent count rate as a function of total activity in the machine and as the mu Ci/cc in the phantoms. The accuracy of deadtime corrections was also measured. In 2D mode, the NEMA standard protocol resulted in maximum 'trues' count rates of 540,000 cps in high sensitivity mode. In 3D mode the head sized cylindrical phantoms yielded a maximum trues rate of approximately 950,000 cps. Recovery of the water half-life was accurate with up to 50 mCi for the cardiac insert in 2D mode. >
Hardcore drug users claim to be occasional users: drug use frequency underreporting

Self-reports of drug use frequency are central to treatment outcome evaluations, estimates of the prevalence of heavy use, estimates of treatment need, and other questions with direct relevance to drug policies. Nevertheless, surprisingly little is known about the validity of these self-reports. This study examines the accuracy of 701 frequency self-reports made by a sample of methadone maintenance clients. Self-report accuracy is evaluated by comparing rates of positive urinalyses found for each case with rates that would be expected had drug use occurred only as often as reported. Expected rates of positive urinalyses are derived from conservative Monte Carlo models of drug use for each case. This procedure reveals extensive heroin and cocaine use frequency underreporting. After adjusting for frequency underreporting, 51% of 279 cases reporting only occasional heroin use (1-10 days in the past 30), and 22% of the 157 cases reporting occasional cocaine use, are found to be using these drugs with frequencies corresponding to what the Office of National Drug Control Policy defines as 'hardcore use' (more than 10 days in the past 30). Drug use frequency underreporting appears substantial, and might constitute an important threat to the validity of some treatment outcome evaluations, needs assessments and other analyses that rely on drug use frequency self-reports.
Determining rock mass deformability: experience from case histories

Abstract This paper discusses the results of extensive in-situ rock deformability tests conducted on three major engineering projects in South Africa: the Orange River Water Project, the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme and the Elandsberg Pumped Storage Scheme. These projects features testing programmes involving many different methods, thus enabling comparisons and assessments of the reliability of the various in-situ tests. A review is also presented of the in-situ deformability data from those important projects througout the world which are well documented. It is shown that in-situ tests pose a number of uncertainties even for rock mechanics specialists and a new approach to assessing rock mass deformability based on the Geomechanics Classification of rock masses is suggested.
Manufacturer and Industry Responses to the Counterfeiting Challenge

The appearance of counterfeit products in the drug supply chain has created challenges for the health care industry, law enforcement, and especially pharmaceutical and biotech therapeutic drug manufacturers, many of whom did not fully appreciate this threat just 10 years ago. This article summarizes a number of issues faced by manufacturers of branded medicines today and suggests some approaches from a broad biopharmaceuticals point of view that can be used to manage this new threat.
In search of antiaging modalities: Evaluation of mTOR‐ and ROS/DNA damage‐signaling by cytometry

This review presents the evidence in support of the IGF-1/mTOR/S6K1 signaling as the primary factor contributing to aging and cellular senescence. Reviewed are also specific interactions between mTOR/S6K1 and ROS-DNA damage signaling pathways. Outlined are critical sites along these pathways, including autophagy, as targets for potential antiaging (gero-suppressive) and/or chemopreventive agents. Presented are applications of flow- and laser scanning- cytometry utilizing phospho-specific Abs, to monitor activation along these pathways in response to the reported antiaging drugs rapamycin, metformin, berberine, resveratrol, vitamin D3, 2-deoxyglucose, and acetylsalicylic acid. Specifically, effectiveness of these agents to attenuate the level of constitutive mTOR signaling was tested by cytometry and confirmed by Western blotting through measuring phosphorylation of the mTOR-downstream targets including ribosomal protein S6. The ratiometric analysis of phosphorylated to total protein along the mTOR pathway offers a useful parameter reporting the effects of gero-suppressive agents. In parallel, their ability to suppress the level of constitutive DNA damage signaling induced by endogenous ROS was measured. While the primary target of each of these agents may be different the data obtained on several human cancer cell lines, WI-38 fibroblasts and normal lymphocytes suggest common downstream mechanism in which the decline in mTOR/S6K1 signaling and translation rate is coupled with a reduction of oxidative phosphorylation and ROS that leads to decreased oxidative DNA damage. The combined assessment of constitutive γH2AX expression, mitochondrial activity (ROS, ΔΨm), and mTOR signaling provides an adequate gamut of cell responses to test effectiveness of gero-suppressive agents. Described is also an in vitro model of induction of cellular senescence by persistent replication stress, its quantitative analysis by laser scanning cytometry, and application to detect the property of the studied agents to attenuate the induction of senescence. Discussed is cytometric analysis of cell size and heterogeneity of size as a potential biomarker used to asses gero-suppressive agents and longevity.
Eosinophilia in Rheumatologic/Vascular Disorders

Peripheral and tissue eosinophilia can be a prominent feature of several unique rheumatologic and vascular diseases. These diseases span a wide range of clinical features, histologic findings, therapeutic approaches, and outcomes. Despite the rare nature of these entities--which makes large-scale studies challenging--knowledge has continued to grow regarding their epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management. This review compares and contrasts 5 rheumatologic and vascular conditions in which eosinophilia can be seen: eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Churg-Strauss), immunoglobulin G4-related disease, diffuse fasciitis with eosinophilia, eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome, and eosinophilic myositis.
Toddlers' Learning From Socially Meaningful Video Characters

Toddlers' performance on a seriation sequencing task was measured after exposure to a video as a function of the social meaningfulness of the character. Forty eight 21-month-old toddlers were randomly assigned to a socially meaningful character video demonstration, a less socially meaningful character video demonstration, or a no exposure control group. Results indicated that toddlers learned the seriation sequencing task better from a video when a socially meaningful character, rather than a less socially meaningful character, demonstrated the task. Our findings demonstrate that toddlers under age two can learn cognitive, logical reasoning skills from a video presentation when the onscreen character is socially meaningful to them.
The Photobiology of Blepharisma

Blepharisma (Figs. 1A and 1B) is a genus of ciliate protozoans in which most of the 47 listed species contain a pink pigment named blepharismin that renders them sensitive to glass-transmitted visible and nearultraviolet (UV) radiation. Initially, the pigment was called zoopurpurin by Arcichovskij (1905), who first determined its absorption spectrum. The name was changed to blepharismin to conform to the terminology of hypericin-like pigments, using the genus name as the basis of nomenclature: hypericin from Hypericum, stentorin from Stentor, fabrein from Fabrea, and blepharismin from Blepharisma (Giese, 1973).
Interneuronal Communication I: Neurotransmitters

Neurons communicate with each other and with other cells using essentially two forms of transmission: electrical and chemical. In the CNS of higher vertebrates, chemical neurotransmission predominates. This chapter and Chapter 4 considers some of the cellular processes that are involved in the synthesis and processing of molecules that are involved in chemical neurotransmission, including the transmitters themselves, their receptors, and second messenger systems.
Comments: “The Impact on Managers of Frequency of Feedback”

The article presents a letter to the editor in response to the article “The Impact on Managers of Frequency of Feedback,” from the September 1968 issue of “Academy of Management Journal.”
Duration of Development, Generation Time, and Longevity of Three Hymenopterous Parasites of Therioaphis maculata, Reared at Various Constant Temperatures

Two imported species of Braconidae, Praon palitans Muesebeck and Trioxys utilis Muesebeck, and one aphelinid, Aphelinus semiflavus Howard, were reared at constant temperatures ranging from 10° to 35°C. Artificial illumination and photoperiods were identical in all studies, and the relative humidity was held as constant as possible between 40% and 60%. T. utilis had the shortest developmental period and generation time at the temperatures tested, and its longevity also was short. A. semiflavus had the longest generation time and longevity over the entire temperature range; its developmental period was the longest of the 3 species at intermediate temperatures, but was shorter than that of P. palitans at low and high temperatures. P. palitans was intermediate between the other 2 parasites in generation time and longevity. Both T. utilis and P. palitans entered a state of diapause under the stimulus of cold temperature, but A. semiflavus did not. The influence of temperature on host-parasite relationships is evaluated on the basis of the relative changes occurring in developmental period, mean generation time, and adult longevity as the thermal environment is varied.
The American Exclusionary Rule: Is There a Lesson to Learn From Others?

When the U.S. Supreme Court extended the application of the exclusionary rule in its landmark decision Mapp v. Ohio, it was leading the way in employing the exclusionary remedy as a means to protect people’s rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. The past 50 years have seen significant changes in the criminal justice landscape on the world scene. The exclusionary rule is no longer unique to American jurisprudence. The rule has been adopted by other Western countries as well. The American exclusionary rule, however, remains a unique rule in terms of its deterrence rationale and mandatory nature. No other countries have adopted a mandatory rule or rested the rule on its deterrent effect. This article discusses the operation of the exclusionary rule in four other countries and provides a comparative analysis of the American exclusionary rule. It analyzes the problems associated with the operation of a deterrence-based mandatory rule and explores the possibility of changing the American exclusiona...
Development of the Neuron Assessment for Measuring Biology Students’ Use of Experimental Design Concepts and Representations

Researchers, instructors, and funding bodies in biology education are unanimous about the importance of developing students' competence in experimental design. Despite this, only limited measures are available for assessing such competence development, especially in the areas of molecular and cellular biology. Also, existing assessments do not measure how well students use standard symbolism to visualize biological experiments. We propose an assessment-design process that 1) provides background knowledge and questions for developers of new "experimentation assessments," 2) elicits practices of representing experiments with conventional symbol systems, 3) determines how well the assessment reveals expert knowledge, and 4) determines how well the instrument exposes student knowledge and difficulties. To illustrate this process, we developed the Neuron Assessment and coded responses from a scientist and four undergraduate students using the Rubric for Experimental Design and the Concept-Reasoning Mode of representation (CRM) model. Some students demonstrated sound knowledge of concepts and representations. Other students demonstrated difficulty with depicting treatment and control group data or variability in experimental outcomes. Our process, which incorporates an authentic research situation that discriminates levels of visualization and experimentation abilities, shows potential for informing assessment design in other disciplines.
Antisense mRNA-Mediated Bacteriophage Resistance in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis

Abstract Resistance to a broad class of isometric bacteriophages that infect strains of Lactococcus lactis has been engineered into a dairy starter by expression of antisense mRNA targeted against a conserved bacteriophage gene. Maximum protection is obtained only when the entire 1,654-bp coding sequence for a 51-kDa protein is positioned in the antisense orientation with respect to a promoter sequence that functions in L. lactis subsp. lactis. Expression of the antisense mRNA results in more than 99% reduction of the total number of PFU. Plaques that do form are characterized by their relatively small size and irregular shape. A variety of truncated genes, including the open reading frame expressed in the sense orientation, fail to provide any significant measure of resistance as compared with that of the intact open reading frame. Southern hybridization with probes specific for the conserved region reveal that the [ill] plasmid constructs are maintained despite the presence of a large complement of other indigenous plasmids. Strains harboring the antisense mRNA plasmid construct grow and produce acid at a rate equivalent to that of the host strain alone, suggesting that antisense expression is not deleterious to normal cellular metabolism.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)

Wordsworth’s awareness of Coleridge’s literary ability probably antedated 1 September 1795, when, so the story goes, the two men met at 7 Great George Street, Bristol, the home of John Pinney, who had made his fortune in the West Indies as a merchant trading in sugar. By that year Coleridge was an author with a growing reputation. Wordsworth, a self-proclaimed poet, had not published much in the way of significant work up to that point. (The date and place have been challenged by some biographers.)
Statistical Mechanical Theory of Penetrant Diffusion in Polymer Melts and Glasses

We generalize our microscopic, force-level, self-consistent nonlinear Langevin equation theory of activated diffusion of a spherical particle in a dense hard sphere fluid to treat molecular penetrant diffusion in homopolymer melts and nonaging glasses. A coarse-grained mapping is developed where polymer chains are modeled as disconnected, noninterpenetrating Kuhn scale hard spheres (diameter, σ), and the penetrant is modeled as an effective hard sphere (diameter, d) which can be attracted to the polymer segment. The polymer mapping is a priori carried out by enforcing the effective hard sphere fluid reproduces the specific polymer liquid or glass long wavelength dimensionless collective density fluctuation amplitude. The theory predicts that penetrant diffusivity exhibits supra-Arrhenius temperature dependence in supercooled polymer melts and (near) Arrhenius temperature dependence in quenched nonequilibrium polymer glasses. Polymer–penetrant attraction slows down penetrant diffusivity to a degree that is...
Assessing the Effects of Software Platforms on Volumetric Segmentation of Glioblastoma.

Background Radiological assessments of biologically relevant regions in glioblastoma have been associated with genotypic characteristics, implying a potential role in personalized medicine. Here, we assess the reproducibility and association with survival of two volumetric segmentation platforms and explore how methodology could impact subsequent interpretation and analysis. Methods Post-contrast T1- and T2-weighted FLAIR MR images of 67 TCGA patients were segmented into five distinct compartments (necrosis, contrast-enhancement, FLAIR, post contrast abnormal, and total abnormal tumor volumes) by two quantitative image segmentation platforms - 3D Slicer and a method based on Velocity AI and FSL. We investigated the internal consistency of each platform by correlation statistics, association with survival, and concordance with consensus neuroradiologist ratings using ordinal logistic regression. Results We found high correlations between the two platforms for FLAIR, post contrast abnormal, and total abnormal tumor volumes (spearman's r(67) = 0.952, 0.959, and 0.969 respectively). Only modest agreement was observed for necrosis and contrast-enhancement volumes (r(67) = 0.693 and 0.773 respectively), likely arising from differences in manual and automated segmentation methods of these regions by 3D Slicer and Velocity AI/FSL, respectively. Survival analysis based on AUC revealed significant predictive power of both platforms for the following volumes: contrast-enhancement, post contrast abnormal, and total abnormal tumor volumes. Finally, ordinal logistic regression demonstrated correspondence to manual ratings for several features. Conclusion Tumor volume measurements from both volumetric platforms produced highly concordant and reproducible estimates across platforms for general features. As automated or semi-automated volumetric measurements replace manual linear or area measurements, it will become increasingly important to keep in mind that measurement differences between segmentation platforms for more detailed features could influence downstream survival or radio genomic analyses.
Building on a safety culture with transparency by participating in a mentored quality-improvement program for insulin pen safety

Purpose The experience at a medium-sized regional medical center participating in the ASHP MENTORED QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IMPACT PROGRAM℠ (MQIIP) on Insulin Pen Safety in Hospitals is described. Summary With the support of top hospital leaders, Munson Medical Center (MMC) applied in June 2014 to participate in the MQIIP to complement its ongoing risk assessment related to the use of pen devices for insulin administration. Nurse knowledge deficits, problems with insulin pen storage and labeling, and improper insulin injection practices identified in baseline assessments for the MQIIP were the basis for process improvements, including new policies and procedures, an electronic alert and education for nurses, and individualized communication with pharmacy and nursing personnel about insulin pen safety. The experiences of other hospitals helped us identify solutions to safety issues and formulate communication strategies for improving insulin pen safety in our hospital. Awareness of the importance of insulin pen safety increased in all staff. Implementing these process improvements during the five-month intervention period resulted in increases in nurse knowledge and improvements in insulin pen storage, labeling, and injection practices, although problems persisted. Additional plans have been made to further enhance the safety of insulin use at MMC. Conclusion The ASHP MQIIP on Insulin Pen Safety in Hospitals provided a structured and supportive approach to identifying and addressing insulin pen safety issues at MMC. The insight gained through participation enabled us to devise strategies to communicate with staff about safety issues and improve the safety of insulin pen use in the institution.
Giving More Effective Feedback

Have you ever wondered what exactly was "good" about the "good job" you received from your supervisor? Have you ever debated the best way to constructively critique an employee? Have you ever considered how to accurately evaluate your own work? Effective feedback is a must for creating team growth, personal development (in both ourselves and others) and furthering the mission of our organizations. Today let's take the time to discuss and try best practices in both giving and receiving feedback. In this facilitated discussion, you'll have the opportunity to learn and practice feedback techniques as well as learn the organizational value of feedback and reasoning behind what makes effective feedback. We will also take time to discuss and practice self-assessment including how to give ourselves open and honest feedback. Giving and receiving effective feedback are valuable skills for relationships both personal and professional; come work on honing your feedback skills to better those around you.
Timely information dissemination with distributed storage in delay tolerant mobile sensor networks

In delay tolerant mobile sensor networks, the application may sometimes require informing all the sensor nodes in the network about the presence of a message while delivering it to a specific destination node. But, due to constraints on buffer space, it is not efficient to keep these message copies in the buffer of all nodes. In this paper, we propose a probabilistic approach for information dissemination to every node in the network but caching the message copies in only some of the nodes' buffer that can be utilized for future references to decrease the data access latency. This method saves the buffer space of nodes which do not hold the copies while still allowing the whole network nodes to access information on the message whenever required by providing the copies from the nodes that still hold it.
Does Good Food Matter? A Food Balance Study of Cleveland

This article seeks to expand the understanding of the impact of physical environment on life and health outcomes. The article first examines the balance of food outlets (grocery stores, fast food, and convenience stores) throughout Cleveland and surrounding communities. It then assesses the socio-economic determinants of alternative suppliers of health foods or grocery store alternatives (GSAs), these would include farmers’ markets, urban farms, and CSAs. And finally it assesses the roles of food availability on life expectancy. The results from this paper demonstrate that one of the strongest predictors of the location of GSAs are grocery stores — leading one to believe that GSAs are not filling any gaps in the availability of health foods. Secondly, this article demonstrates that it is the socio-demographic characteristics that appear to be driving life expectancy, not the availability of fresh foods or a glut of unhealthy fast food.
Animal Companions and Human Well-Being: An Historical Exploration of the Value of Human—Animal Relationships

Publisher Summary For most of human history, animals have occupied a central position in theories concerning the ontology and treatment of sickness and disease. Offended animal spirits were often believed to be the source of illness, injury, or misfortune, but, at the same time, the assistance of animal guardian spirits—either one's own or those belonging to a medicine man or shaman—could also be called on to mediate in the process of healing such afflictions. Recent interest in the potential medical value of animal companionship was largely initiated by a single study that appeared to demonstrate life-prolonging effects of pet ownership among heart attack sufferers. This study has since prompted many others, most of which have demonstrated either short-term, relaxing effects of animal contact, or long-term health improvements consistent with a view of companion animals as sources of social support. Despite these findings, the positive therapeutic value of animal companionship continues to receive little recognition in mainstream medical literature, and as a field of research it is grossly undersupported by government funding agencies. Hopefully, with the gradual demise of this old-fashioned and prejudiced mind-set, one can return to a more holistic and open-minded view of the potential contribution of animals to human well-being.
Compliance and Medicine

Patient noncompliance with medical regimens has been the subject of considerable research. Several reviews of the literature have reported estimates of noncompliance ranging from 4% to 92% (Davis, 1966; Marston, 1970). The magnitude of the problem has prompted the suggestion that poor medical outcomes resulting from noncompliance might account for much of the current general dissatisfaction with the delivery of health care (Korsch & Negrete, 1972). In particular, noncompliance with medication regimens represents an immediate challenge to behavioral scientists because there now exist a number of highly effective drug therapies for various diseases. Patient noncompliance with prescribed medication regimens seriously undermines the effectiveness of drug therapy in both preventive and curative situations and results in unnecessary morbidity, mortality, and cost.
Interferon-α Triggers Autoimmune Thyroid Diseases via Lysosomal-Dependent Degradation of Thyroglobulin.

Context Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs) arise from complex interactions among genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors. Thyroglobulin (TG) is a major susceptibility gene for both Graves disease and Hashimoto thyroiditis. Interferon-α (IFNα), a cytokine secreted during viral infections, has emerged as a key trigger of AITD. We have shown that IFNα upregulates TG transcription; however, how the upregulation of TG transcription by IFNα triggers AITD is still unknown. Objective To evaluate how IFNα triggers AITD by testing its effects on TG processing. Design We exposed human thyroid cells to IFNα and evaluated its effects on TG expression and processing. Results Human thyroid cells exposed to INFα had increased levels of TG mRNA but reduced TG protein levels, indicating TG protein degradation. IFNα induced endoplasmic reticulum stress, but surprisingly, neither the use of chemical chaperones nor proteasome inhibitor prevented IFNα-induced TG degradation. IFNα also increased LysoTracker staining and autophagy flux measured by net light chain 3 (LC3)-II and p62 fluxes. In addition, expression of autophagy markers LC3 and autophagy-related gene 5 was higher in thyroid tissues from patients with AITD. Finally, blocking lysosomal degradation prevented IFNα-induced degradation of TG. Conclusion We have shown in this study IFNα-induced lysosomal-dependent degradation of TG in human thyroid cells. Our findings suggest that during viral infections, local thyroidal IFNα production can lead to lysosomal TG degradation, releasing pathogenic TG peptides that can trigger AITD.
Higher education for citizens of caring democracies

Educational development has gained legitimacy as a field of inquiry. Larger structural questions about the place of universities within democracies, however, should be a basic concern of educational developers. This paper poses the question, “which side are you on?” It argues that developers can either acquiesce to the conditions of universities in a neoliberal setting or can resist by thinking about universities as a critical tool in the development of caring democracies.
Development of A psbA-less/psbD-less Strain of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 for Simultaneous Mutagenesis of the D1 and D2 Proteins of Photosystem II

The cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has several features that make it an excellent genetic system for the study of fundamental processes such as photosynthesis or respiration, as well as for applied research [1, 2]. A major advantage of Synechocystis 6803 is that its entire genome has been sequenced recently [3]. This has opened up numerous possibilities to modify genes and entire biochemical pathways by introducing, deleting or altering any part of the Synechocystis 6803 genome. An appealing application of genetic engineering in this organism is the simultaneous introduction of mutations into multiple genes, but the extent to which multiple deletions or mutations can be combined in one strain has been limited by the number of currently available selectable markers. So far, seven antibiotic-resistance cassettes have been used successfully in Synechocystis 6803. These cassettes confer resistance to erythromycin (Er) [4], chloramphenicol (Cm) [5], gentamycin (Gm) [6], kanamycin (Km) [7], spectinomycin (Sp) [8], streptomycin (Str) [9], and zeocin (Zeo) [10]. In addition, a tetracycline (Tet) resistance cassette has been reported to be useful in this respect [11], but this cassette has proven to be rather unreliable in our hands for routine use. However, even this sizable number of useful cassettes may not be sufficient for genetic studies of complicated biochemical and physiological pathways, where many different genes need to be deleted and possibly later replaced with their mutagenized copies.
The Impact of an Interventional Pulmonary Program on Nontherapeutic Lung Resections.

BACKGROUND Pulmonary resection can concurrently diagnose and treat known or suspected lung cancer, but is not without risk. Benign resection rates range widely (9% to 40%). We evaluated the impact of an Interventional Pulmonology (IP) program and dedicated Pulmonary Nodule Clinic on surgical benign resection rates at a single institution. METHODS An IP program was initiated in August 2010 that offered advanced diagnostic techniques and a dedicated Pulmonary Nodule Clinic was opened in August 2013. We retrospectively reviewed all patients who underwent resection for known or suspected lung cancer between 2005 and 2015 at our tertiary referral hospital. Demographics, preoperative tissue diagnoses, surgical procedure, final pathology, and staging were collected. Quarterly benign resection rates were calculated and plotted on a statistical quality control chart (P-Chart) to determine the impact of the IP program and Pulmonary Nodule Clinic on benign resection rates over time. RESULTS Of 1112 resections, 209 (19%) were benign. Variation in quarterly benign resection rates decreased after introduction of the IP program in 2010, and a significant (P<0.05) sustained decrease in the quarterly benign resection rate occurred after introduction of the pulmonary nodule clinic in 2013 to a new baseline of 12% compared with 24% before 2010. After introduction of the IP program, mean quarterly preoperative tissue diagnostic rates increased from 45% to 58% (P<0.01). CONCLUSION Integration of an IP program employing advanced diagnostic bronchoscopic techniques has improved preoperative diagnostic rates of suspicious pulmonary nodules and in combination with a pulmonary nodule clinic has resulted in fewer benign resections.
Asymmetric Random Projections

Random projections (RP) are a popular tool for reducing dimensionality while preserving local geometry. In many applications the data set to be projected is given to us in advance, yet the current RP techniques do not make use of information about the data. In this paper, we provide a computationally light way to extract statistics from the data that allows designing a data dependent RP with superior performance compared to data-oblivious RP. We tackle scenarios such as matrix multiplication and linear regression/classification in which we wish to estimate inner products between pairs of vectors from two possibly different sources. Our technique takes advantage of the difference between the sources and is provably superior to oblivious RPs. Additionally, we provide extensive experiments comparing RPs with our approach showing significant performance lifts in fast matrix multiplication, regression and classification problems.
So you want to address sexual harassment and assault in your organization? Training is not enough; Education is necessary

The problem of sexual harassment and assault in educational environments and in the workplace is receiving more attention today than it has at perhaps any time in the past. The awareness of the pro...
Abstract 3842: Histone methyltransferase G9a promotes migration, invasion of non-small cell lung cancer through enhancing FAK and NF-kB signal pathways

Overexpression of euchromatic histone methyltransferase 2 (EHMT2 or G9a) is associated with carcinogenesis and poor prognosis in a number of cancer types. In this study, we investigated the effect of G9a on invasion of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and the mechanism underlying cancer cell invasion. Knockdown of G9a was shown to drastically suppress in vitro cellular proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 and H1299 NSCLC cells, while overexpression of G9a significantly enhanced the proliferation and invasion of these NSCLC cells. Additionally, knockdown of G9a led to significant decrease in expression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) gene and activation of FAK pathway. UNC0638, a selective inhibitor of G9a, significantly suppressed both the proliferation, migration and invasion of these NSCLC cells, and concurrently led to a dramatic drop of global demethylation of H3K9 (H3K9me2) and suppressed the activation of FAK pathway. In addition, Defactinib, a potent FAK inhibitor, partially abolished the enhanced invasion by overexpression of G9a in these NSCLC cells. Furthermore, G9a was proved to regulate nuclear NF-κB transcriptional activity in NSCLC cells, and NF-κB inhibitor partially abolished the activated FAK signaling pathway by overexpressed G9a, which indicates that G9a-enhanced invasion and activation of FAK pathway may be mediated by NF-κB transcriptional activity. Notably, immunohistochemistry analysis further revealed that activation of FAK pathway was associated with overexpressed G9a in about 150 cases of NSCLC tissues. Altogether, these data have strongly demonstrated that G9a may promote invasion of NSCLC cells by upregulating FAK protein and pathway via enhancing NF-κB transcriptional activity, indicating a therapeutic implication of targeting these two pathways in NSCLC with overexpressed G9a. Citation Format: Ting Sun, Keqiang Zhang, Rajendra P. Pangeni, Wendong Li, Dan J. Raz. Histone methyltransferase G9a promotes migration, invasion of non-small cell lung cancer through enhancing FAK and NF-kB signal pathways [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3842.
Mechanochemical Synthesis of Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite from Ca(H2PO4)2.H2O, CaO, Ca(OH)2, and P2O5 Mixtures.

This paper reports the progress of the mechanochemical synthesis of nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (HA) starting from six different powder mixtures containing Ca(H2PO4)2.H2O, CaO, Ca(OH)2, and P2O5. The reaction kinetics of HA phase formation during high-energy ball milling was systematically investigated. The mechanochemical reaction rate of the Ca(H2PO4)2.H2O–Ca(OH)2 powder mixture found to be very fast as the HA phase started to form at around 2 min and finished after 30 min of ball milling. All six powder mixtures were transformed entirely into HA, with the crystallite size between 18.5 and 20.2 nm after 1 h and between 22.5 and 23.9 nm after 2 h of milling. Moreover, the lattice strain was found to be 0.8 ± 0.05% in the 1 h milled powder and 0.6 ± 0.05% in all six powders milled for 2 h. This observation, i.e., coarsening of the HA crystal and gradual decrease of the lattice strain with the increase of milling time, is opposite to the results reported by other researchers. The gradual increase in crystallite size and decrease in lattice strain result from dynamic recovery and recrystallization because of an increase in the local temperature of the powder particles trapped between the balls and ball and reactor wall during the high-energy collision.
Cancer-associated mutations reveal a novel role for EpCAM as an inhibitor of cathepsin-L and tumor cell invasion

EpCAM (Epithelial cell adhesion molecule) is often dysregulated in epithelial cancers. Prior studies implicate EpCAM in the regulation of oncogenic signaling pathways and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. It was recently demonstrated that EpCAM contains a thyroglobulin type-1 (TY-1) domain. Multiple proteins with TY-1 domains are known to inhibit cathepsin-L (CTSL), a cysteine protease that promotes tumor cell invasion and metastasis. Analysis of human cancer sequencing studies reveals that somatic EpCAM mutations are present in up to 5.1% of tested tumors. The Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer (COSMIC) database was queried to tabulate the position and amino acid changes of cancer associated EpCAM mutations. To determine how EpCAM mutations affect cancer biology we studied C66Y, a damaging TY-1 domain mutation identified in liver cancer, as well as 13 other cancer-associated EpCAM mutations. In vitro and in vivo models were used to determine the effect of wild type (WT) and mutant EpCAM on CTSL activity and invasion. Immunoprecipitation and localization studies tested EpCAM and CTSL protein binding and determined compartmental expression patterns of EpCAM mutants. We demonstrate that WT EpCAM, but not C66Y EpCAM, inhibits CTSL activity in vitro, and the TY-1 domain of EpCAM is responsible for this inhibition. WT EpCAM, but not C66Y EpCAM, inhibits tumor cell invasion in vitro and lung metastases in vivo. In an extended panel of human cancer cell lines, EpCAM expression is inversely correlated with CTSL activity. Previous studies have demonstrated that EpCAM germline mutations can prevent EpCAM from being expressed at the cell surface. We demonstrate that C66Y and multiple other EpCAM cancer-associated mutations prevent surface expression of EpCAM. Cancer-associated mutations that prevent EpCAM cell surface expression abrogate the ability of EpCAM to inhibit CTSL activity and tumor cell invasion. These studies reveal a novel role for EpCAM as a CTSL inhibitor, confirm the functional relevance of multiple cancer-associated EpCAM mutations, and suggest a therapeutic vulnerability in cancers harboring EpCAM mutations.