cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Replication of IPN virus: a cytochemical and biochemical study in SWT cells.

SummaryAlthough IPN virus failed to multiply at 30°, it replicated at 16° and 22° in SWT cells. At 22° the viral eclipse period lasted nearly 6 hr with maximal virion titers attained by 24 hr, whereas replication at 16° was much slower. The replication of the virion was inhibited by 0.05 μg/ml of AD which did not interfere with the production of reovirus. Biochemical studies revealed that cellular DNA synthesis was markedly reduced (>50%) soon after infection, whereas total RNA synthesis was enhanced. The period of rapid increase in RNA synthesis paralleled the exponential production of infectious virus. Viral inclusion bodies, revealed by acridine orange-staining of virus-infected cells (SWT and RGG-2) late in the infectious cycle, were found to contain single-stranded RNA on the basis of their staining characteristics and sensitivity to RNase. inhibitory effect of higher temperature (33°) on IPN virus replication in FHM cells has been described (23). A plausible explanation for this phenomenon is that t...
One-step synthesis of biodegradable curcumin-derived hydrogels as potential soft tissue fillers after breast cancer surgery.

A one-step synthesis of a curcumin-derived hydrogel (curcumin content of 25–75 mol %) is reported. Curcumin is incorporated into the hydrogel backbone and cross-linked through biodegradable carbonate linkages. Curcumin as a part of the polymer backbone is protected from oxidation and degradation, while hydrogel hydrolysis results in the release of active curcumin. Nontoxic poly(ethylene glycol) and desaminotyrosyl-tyrosine ethyl ester are used to tune the hydrophilic/hydrophobic hydrogel properties. In this way, hydrogels with a wide range of physical properties including water-uptake (100–550%) and compression moduli (7–100 kPa) were obtained. Curcumin release is swelling-controlled and could be extended to 80 days. In vitro, curcumin-derived hydrogels showed selective cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 (IC50 9 μM) breast cancer cells but no cytotoxicity to noncancerous quiescent human dermal fibroblasts even at high curcumin concentrations (160 μM). One possible application of these curcumin-derived hydrog...
Transphosphorylation by human alkaline phosphatases.

Human alkaline phosphatases (A.P.) are markedly activated by animated alcohols, especially 2-ethylaminoethanol (EAE) and diethanolamine (DEA). EAE and DEA activate the serum A.P. activity toward p-nitrophenol phosphate and phenyl phosphate to a greater extent than toward b-naphthyl phosphate. The A.P. activation results from enzymatic transphosphorylation of the aminated alcohols. Serum A.P. activities are as much as four times greater in EAE and DEA than in 2-amino-2-methyl-l-propanol. Both EAE and DEA are excellent buffers, have a pK close to the enzymatic pH optimum, and can be used to buffer and activate A.P. activity assay. Hence they may be referred to as “phosphorylatable buffers.” Magnesium, calcium, and strontium do not activate A.P. in EAE or DEA, but do activate it in carbonate buffer. The transphosphorylase/A.P. activities of bone and liver extracts are roughly the same.
Pulsed Laser Deposition of SrBi2Ta2O9 Thin Films for Nonvolatile Memory Applications

Ferroelectric SrBi2Ta2U9 (SBT) thin films were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on platinized silicon substrates held at different substrate temperatures, from targets with different compositions. It was necessary to anneal films deposited at low temperature (525°C) at elevated temperatures in an oxygen atmosphere in order to achieve properties comparable to SBT thin films grown by the sol-gel technique. Polarization – electric field hysteresis loops showed saturation in the 2-5 V range with a remnant polarization 2Pr = 8-13 µC/cm2. Capacitors showed negligible fatigue up to 1010 switching cycles.
Corning Incorporated: Designing a New Future with Glass and Optics

Corning Incorporated is a world leader in glass and ceramic products, and has been innovating in these materials since 1851. The company sells component-level technical products that are integrated into systems made by its customers. In most cases, those systems are significantly more efficient or in some instances fundamentally enabled by the performance of the Corning product. Corning calls its products “keystone components” for this reason. Keystone components often result from a combination of both material and process innovations, which tend to be difficult for other companies to duplicate. Developing keystone components requires patient investment in R&D (both materials and process) over long periods of time, and depends upon a culture of innovation and dedication to fundamental understanding. We highlight in this chapter three different keystone components developed by Corning in the past two decades—Corning® Gorilla® Glass for touch-enabled displays, Epic® sensors for drug discovery, and ClearCurve® optical fiber. In each case we provide an overview of Corning’s contributions to each field, describe the areas of technical challenge that still need to be addressed by the research community, and link those to the skills and capabilities that are needed to ensure further success in each.
Project Promise A Long-Term Follow-Up of Low-Income Gifted Students Who Participated in a Summer Enrichment Program

“Overlooked gems” is the term used in gifted education to describe high-potential, low-income students who are unable to excel because of significant barriers in their homes, environments, and educ...
Do Judicial Elections Impact the Perception of Impartiality? A Comparison of Bar Poll Ratings of Elected and Appointed Illinois Downstate and Collar County Trial Judges

AbstractThis study compares the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) judicial poll impartiality scores of 256 elected and 381 appointed trial judges seated in 101 Illinois counties over an 18-year period at the conclusion of their first term of office. This article also analyzes the ISBA impartiality ratings of the subset of 126 elected judges and 100 appointed judges who were evaluated after serving 12 years in office. In both sets of circumstances, regression analyses revealed a significant negative relationship between elections and impartiality ratings given by the attorneys participating in the polls. Finally, this study compares the mean impartiality scores of the 49 individuals who served as both elected and appointed judges. This comparison reveals that these judges garnered lower impartiality ratings when they served as an elected judge compared to their ratings as an appointed judge.
Mapping Reentry: In, Out, Into, or In Two?

Among the most difficult but fulfilling challenges to meet in the invasive electrophysiology laboratory is defining a reentrant circuit and choosing an effective ablation strategy. In this installment of teaching rounds, Ip et al1 elegantly discuss the deductive process involved when analyzing activation and entrainment data in a particularly instructive reentrant circuit involving both atria. See Article by Ip et al Can activation mapping define the mechanism of tachycardia?2 In general, a centrifugal spread from an apparent point source suggests an automatic focus, whereas the absence of such a spread would favor reentry. However, there are important exceptions that occur frequently enough that such a simple construct is rarely of sufficient practical value.
28 AGING EFFECTS ON THE PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION CAPACITY OF ADIPOSE STEM CELLS.

Purpose The therapeutic potential of stem cells is enormous. Cell-based therapies of diseases affecting the lower urinary tract using stem cells appear promising. Most of these diseases, such as incontinence, affect predominantly the elderly, yet most research of adult-derived stem cells has been conducted in cells from young individuals. Thus, little is known about individual variations within characterized stem cell lineages and the multipotential capacity of these cells in the elderly. We sought to compare the proliferative and differentiation capacities of different sources of adipose stem cells (ASCs) derived from young and elderly rats and evaluate the effects of senescence on these cells. Methods Fat was harvested from the inguinal/abdominal, retroperitoneal, and gonadal regions of 3-month and 24-month female Fischer 344 rats and processed to obtain ASCs. P1 passage cells were plated for proliferation and cells were counted daily by hemocytometer. P1 passage cells were differentiated in specific media as previously described. Osteogenic differentiation was assessed quantitatively and qualitatively for Ca2+ and alkaline phosphatase. Smooth muscle differentiation was assessed by the presence of smooth muscle specific markers by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry. Senescence of the cells was measured by telomerase activity. Results Gonadal and retroperitoneal ASCs from older rats have significantly decreased proliferation and differentiation into osteoblastic and leiomyogenic than ASCs from younger animals. In contrast, inguinal/abdominal ASCs from aged rats have an increased proliferation, clonogenic capacity, and osteoblastic differentiation capacity compared with younger rats. Additionally, inguinal ASCs maintain their ability to differentiate into smooth muscle as they age and show an increase in the expression of actin, calponin, and MHC. Aged ASCs from all regions have increased telomerase activity compared with younger rats, with the greatest increase observed in the inguinal/abdominal region. Conclusions There are regional differences in the effect of aging in ASC obtained from different fat depots. Senescence of the cells may account in part for decreases in proliferation and differentiation capacity of ASC obtained from gonadal and retroperitoneal regions. The aged inguinal/abdominal fat maintains a population of ASC with high levels of telomerase activity that maintain normal proliferation and differentiation capacity. This telomerase up-regulation is typical of stem cells and is maintained in the aged animals. This, combined with the ease of access of adipose tissue in this region, makes it an ideal source of stem cells for cell-based therapies in the elderly population.
Combination of generalized intestinal candidiasis and balantidiasis in a child with Down syndrome

The above combination is probably due to immunodeficiency characteristic of Down's syndrome.
Building debuggers and other tools: we can "have it all"

Software development tools that "instrument" running programs, notably debuggers, are presumed to demand difficult tradeoffs among performance, functionality, implementation complexity, and user convenience. A fundamental change in our thinking about such tools makes that presumption obsolete. By building instrumentation directly into the core of a high-performance language implementation framework, tool-support can be always on, with confidence that optimization will apply uniformly to instrumentation and result in near zero overhead. Tools can be always available (and fast), not only for end user programmers, but also for language implementors throughout development.
Holding Schools Accountable for their Sex-ed Curricula

This Article examines the legal and policy implications that arise when a school district decides to instruct students on issues concerning same-sex attractions. As more states afford legal recognition to same-sex relationships and adopt non-discrimination codes that include sexual orientation, schools are faced with the decision of what, when, and how to teach children about samesex attractions. Providing instruction on this divisive issue is fraught with conflict as views and beliefs on the topic are deeplyheld, diverse, and often politically charged. In disputes concerning other sensitive topics, courts long have afforded schools broad discretion to implement curriculum without interference from parents or courts. This article explores the history and purposes of public education before summarizing current state and federal law concerning parents' rights to opt children out of curriculum. It also provides specific examples of how some public schools have dealt with the topic of same-sex attractions. After highlighting the factually inaccurate and potentially harmful information some schools provide to students concerning same-sex attractions, the article explores three possible causes of action against school districts: a state educational malpractice claim, a federal parental rights claim, and a claim for declaratory and injunctive relief. In the past, these claims have, for the most part, been unsuccessful as to curriculum challenges. This article presents a novel approach for those parents, educators, and lawyers who would like to prevent schools from teaching children that a same-sex relationship is a healthy and normal option to explore. *464 “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”
A phase-field model for shock-induced α-γ phase transition of RDX

Abstract A thermodynamically consistent continuum phase-field model has been developed to investigate the role of shock-induced solid-solid phase transformation in the deformation mechanisms of molecular single crystals. The effects of microstructural evolution and phase transformation are distinguished and modeled within a crystal plasticity framework that is developed for single crystals at high strain rate. When applied to 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) single crystal, the model predicts α-γ phase transition within the experimentally observed range of shock stresses. Phase-field simulations suggest that the α-γ phase transition requires finite time to occur, where plasticity tends to delay the transition. Phase transformation is associated with stress relaxation, and increased temperature rise and associated shock-sensitivity. The shock response of α-γ phase transition is orientation dependent.
Simulation of the focusing DIRC optics with Mathematica

The Focusing DIRC is considered for the Barrel PID at a possible Super-B factory. To reduce sensitivity to background, it would be desirable to reduce a size of the present BaBar photon detector. One way to do it is to replace it with a focusing optics and use smaller photon detector pixels. We have simulated the focusing optics with simulation software based on a 3D calculation performed with the Mathematica program. The software does not use Optica package, instead, it uses its own 3D algorithm. The advantage of the presented method is that it is transparent, fast and that it uses a full backing of the Mathematica graphics, and it does not require expertise to run Geat4 MC software.
Detection of Carcinoma in the Post-Cystectomy Urethral Remnant by Flow Cytometric Analysis

Following radical cystoprostatectomy for bladder cancer patients must be monitored for carcinoma of the urethral remnant. Cytological examination of urethral washings has proved to be a useful alternative to urethroscopy and urethrography. Urethral irrigation specimens also can be evaluated objectively by flow cytometry. In each of 4 patients in whom carcinoma developed in the urethral remnant analysis of urethral irrigation by flow cytometry was positive and comparable to results of urethral irrigation cytology. Flow cytometry is an objective and apparently reliable diagnostic test for malignancy in the urethral remnant.
Multiple Arterial Grafts Improve Late Survival of Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Analysis of 8622 Patients With Multivessel Disease

Background—Use of the left internal mammary artery (LIMA) in multivessel coronary artery disease improves survival after coronary artery bypass graft surgery; however, the survival benefit of multiple arterial (MultArt) grafts is debated. Methods and Results—We reviewed 8622 Mayo Clinic patients who had isolated primary coronary artery bypass graft surgery for multivessel coronary artery disease from 1993 to 2009. Patients were stratified by number of arterial grafts into the LIMA plus saphenous veins (LIMA/SV) group (n=7435) or the MultArt group (n=1187). Propensity score analysis matched 1153 patients. Operative mortality was 0.8% (n=10) in the MultArt and 2.1% (n=154) in the LIMA/SV (P=0.005) group, which was not statistically different (P=0.996) in multivariate analysis or the propensity-matched analysis (P=0.818). Late survival was greater for MultArt versus LIMA/SV (10- and 15-year survival rates were 84% and 71% versus 61% and 36%, respectively [P<0.001], in unmatched groups and 83% and 70% versus ...
Hybrid Perovskite Phase Transition and Its Ionic, Electrical and Optical Properties

Hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) under normal operation will reach a temperature above ~ 60 °C, across the tetragonal-cubic structural phase transition of methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI3). Whether the structural phase transition could result in dramatic changes of ionic, electrical and optical properties that may further impact the PSC performances should be studied. Herein, we report a structural phase transition temperature of MAPbI3 thin film at ~ 55 °C, but a striking contrast occurred at ~ 45 °C in the ionic and electrical properties of MAPbI3 due to a change of the ion activation energy from 0.7 eV to 0.5 eV. The optical properties exhibited no sharp transition except for the steady increase of the bandgap with temperature. It was also observed that the activation energy for ionic migration steadily increased with increased grain sizes, and reduction of the grain boundary density reduced the ionic migration.
A Behavioral Conceptualization of Aphasia

Aphasia is an acquired language impairment that affects over 1 million individuals, the majority of whom are over age 65 (Groher, 1989). This disorder has typically been conceptualized within a cognitive neuroscience framework, but a behavioral interpretation of aphasia is also possible. Skinner's (1957) analysis of verbal behavior proposes a framework of verbal operants that can be integrated with the work of Sidman (1971) and Haughton (1980) to describe the language difficulties individuals with aphasia experience. Using this synthesis of models, we propose a new taxonomy of aphasia based on the observed deficit relations. Assessment and treatment implications are also discussed.
Anti-cytosolic 5'-nucleotidase 1A (cN1A) autoantibodies in motor neuron diseases.

Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is the most common acquired muscle disease in patients older than 50 years. Asymmetric weakness and early involvement of quadriceps and forearm flexors are key clinical features. Muscle biopsy remains the gold standard diagnostic test, which has high specificity, but low sensitivity.1 In addition to the canonical pathologic features of IBM, upregulation of major histocompatibility complex class I and accumulation of various proteins (p62, SMI-31, and TDP-43) have been adopted to the 2011 European Neuromuscular Center diagnostic criteria for IBM.1 The recent identification of anti-cytosolic 5′-nucleotidase 1A (cN1A) autoantibodies by immunoblotting in patients with IBM has raised the question whether we should incorporate these particular antibodies into the diagnostic criteria for IBM.2,3 Anti-cN1A antibodies may be positive several years predating the IBM diagnosis.3 The clinical features of patients with motor neuron disease (MND) with lower motor neuron findings could resemble those of patients with IBM, given their common age group and asymmetry in muscle weakness and atrophy. Here I present 2 patients with MND who had positive anti-cN1A antibodies.
Methods to Detect Cyberthreats on Twitter

Twitter is a microblogging service where users can post short messages and communicate with millions of users instantaneously. Twitter has been used for marketing, political campaigns, and during catastrophic events. Unfortunately, Twitter has been exploited by spammers and cybercriminals to post spam, spread malware, and launch different kinds of cyberattacks. The ease of following another user on Twitter, the posting of shortened URLs in tweets, the use of trending hashtags in tweets, and so on, have made innocent users the victims of various cyberattacks. This chapter reviews recent methods to detect spam, spammers, cybercus content, and suspicious users on Twitter. It also presents a unified framework for modeling hreats on Twitter are discussed, specifically in the context of big data and adversarial machine learning.
MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging for Evaluation of Therapeutics in Colorectal Tumor Organoids.

Patient-derived colorectal tumor organoids (CTOs) closely recapitulate the complex morphological, phenotypic, and genetic features observed in in vivo tumors. Therefore, evaluation of drug distribution and metabolism in this model system can provide valuable information to predict the clinical outcome of a therapeutic response in individual patients. In this report, we applied matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) to examine the spatial distribution of the drug irinotecan and its metabolites in CTOs from two patients. Irinotecan is a prodrug and is often prescribed as part of therapeutic regimes for patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Irinotecan shows a time-dependent and concentration-dependent permeability and metabolism in the CTOs. More interestingly, the active metabolite SN-38 does not co-localize well with the parent drug irinotecan and the inactive metabolite SN-38G. The phenotypic effect of irinotecan metabolism was also confirmed by a viability study showing significantly reduced proliferation in the drug treated CTOs. MALDI-MSI can be used to investigate various pharmaceutical compounds in CTOs derived from different patients. By analyzing multiple CTOs from a patient, this method could be used to predict patient-specific drug responses and help to improve personalized dosing regimens.
13 The Utilization of Myotatic Feedback in Motor Control

In this paper, we shall take up a few topics which are related to the functional utility of myotatic feedback, that is, feedback actions originating from muscle receptors and capable of modifying the motor output to the agonist and antagonist muscles during different motor tasks. The results of our work on this subject may be summarized as follows: 1) Such reflex actions behave essentially like a negative velocity feedback during the intentional arrest of fast, ongoing movements (Soechting, 1973; Terzuolo and Viviani, 1974; Viviani and Terzuolo, 1973). 2) The myotatic feedback can be parameterized in terms of a negative feedback of position, velocity and acceleration. Such a parameterization has led to the identification of separate and independently regulated feedback loops, subserved by different central anatomical structures (Dufresne et al, 1978; 1979a). 3) The gain in each of these feedback loops depends on the motor task (Dufresne et al, 1978; 1979b).
The Future of the History of Chemistry

Chemistry is a science of change. Its historiography is also on the move. So, in turn, these transmutations inevitably shape the publications that present the state of the field – including, needle...
Mito-Nuclear Interactions Affecting Lifespan and Neurodegeneration in a Drosophila Model of Leigh Syndrome

Proper mitochondrial activity depends upon proteins encoded by genes in the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes that must interact functionally and physically in a precisely coordinated manner. Consequently, mito-nuclear allelic interactions are thought to be of crucial importance on an evolutionary scale, as well as for manifestation of essential biological phenotypes, including those directly relevant to human disease. Nonetheless, detailed molecular understanding of mito-nuclear interactions is still lacking, and definitive examples of such interactions in vivo are sparse. Here we describe the characterization of a mutation in Drosophila ND23, a nuclear gene encoding a highly conserved subunit of mitochondrial complex 1. This characterization led to the discovery of a mito-nuclear interaction that affects the ND23 mutant phenotype. ND23 mutants exhibit reduced lifespan, neurodegeneration, abnormal mitochondrial morphology, and decreased ATP levels. These phenotypes are similar to those observed in patients with Leigh syndrome, which is caused by mutations in a number of nuclear genes that encode mitochondrial proteins, including the human ortholog of ND23. A key feature of Leigh syndrome, and other mitochondrial disorders, is unexpected and unexplained phenotypic variability. We discovered that the phenotypic severity of ND23 mutations varies depending on the maternally inherited mitochondrial background. Sequence analysis of the relevant mitochondrial genomes identified several variants that are likely candidates for the phenotypic interaction with mutant ND23, including a variant affecting a mitochondrially encoded component of complex I. Thus, our work provides an in vivo demonstration of the phenotypic importance of mito-nuclear interactions in the context of mitochondrial disease.
Context dependency of in-flight responses by Manduca sexta moths to ambient differences in relative humidity

The use of sensory information to control behavior usually involves the integration of sensory input from different modalities. This integration is affected by behavioral states and experience, and it is also sensitive to the spatiotemporal patterns of stimulation and other general contextual cues. Following the finding that hawkmoths can use relative humidity (RH) as a proxy for nectar content during close-range foraging, we evaluate here whether RH could be used during locomotive flight under two simulated contexts in a wind tunnel: (1) dispersion and (2) search phase of the foraging behavior. Flying moths showed a bias towards air with a higher RH in a context devoid of foraging stimuli, but the addition of visual and olfactory floral stimuli elicited foraging responses that overrode the behavioral effects of RH. We discuss the results in relation to the putative adaptive value of the context-dependent use of sensory information.
Implication of Biomarker Mutations for Predicting Survival in Patients With Metastatic Lung Cancer to the Spine.

STUDY DESIGN A retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE We performed a retrospective study of patients treated at our institution over the last 7 years to ascertain whether gene expression signatures in patients with advanced metastatic disease are associated with survival, when the disease has progressed to the spine. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Spinal metastases are a major cause of morbidity in patients with cancer. Molecular profiling strategies to characterize lung cancer have identified several genetic biomarkers that may lead to more effective prognostication. METHODS We queried our institutional database for patients with metastatic lung cancer who underwent treatment for spinal metastases between 2011 and 2017. Genetic mutations in ALK, MET, ROS1, EGFR, and KRAS were chosen a priori for study based on availability by standard SNaPshot Lung Tumor Genotyping Analysis. Survival time was the duration between treatment for spinal metastases and death. Kaplan-Meier methods and the log-rank test were applied to characterize survival data. RESULTS Twenty-six patients met criteria for inclusion. Median survival after surgery was 0.67 years. Median overall survival (OS) after diagnosis was 2.7 years. The presence of molecular abnormalities in patients with spinal metastases was significantly associated with increased OS (HR 0.38, 95% CI 0.12-1.22, P = 0.03). CONCLUSION Molecular phenotyping may provide prognostic insight in patients undergoing surgery for spinal metastases. This is the first study to demonstrate an association between genetic mutational data and OS in this patient population. It also represents the largest published series of such patients (n = 26) for which genetic mutational data are reported. Future models estimating survival for patients with spinal metastases may be enhanced by incorporation of molecular criteria. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4.
Large negative and positive optical Goos-Hänchen shift in photonic crystals.

Low-loss photonic crystal (PC) mirrors exhibit positive and negative Goos–Hanchen shift (GHS) due to the strong angular and wavelength dependencies of their reflected phase. This Letter demonstrates the existence of large positive and negative GHS in PC mirrors through theoretical, numerical, and experimental approaches. A simple algebraic relation shows that positive effective thickness yields positive (negative) GHS for resonances that blue (red) shift with angle, while the opposite is true for interfaces with negative effective thickness. Spatiotemporal coupled-mode theory demonstrates the above relation for simple systems with one or two resonance modes, and it also shows the existence of both positive and negative GHS. These effects are numerically and experimentally verified in complex PCs with several resonance modes.
Information systems research behaviors: what are the normative standards?

Information systems researchers frequently face quandaries in their professional lives. We present the results of a study of academic IS researchers that assesses their judgments and the prevalence of 29 questionable research-related behaviors. We find that the focus and stages of researchers' careers influence their judgments of these behaviors. Membership in the Association for Information Systems (AIS) and adherence to the AIS Code of Research Conduct are also associated with IS researchers' judgments. There is strong evidence to suggest that IS researchers expect to engage in questionable behaviors more in the future than they report having done in the past. As a result of the study, we recommend that the IS community revisit the AIS Code of Research Conduct on a regular basis and take active steps to both educate its members on professional normative standards and to uphold the standards of our community.
Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) Criteria to Determine the Quality of Asthma Care in Children

The Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) of the National Committee for Quality Assurance is a set of standardized performance measures, the goal of which is to enable purchasers and consumers to evaluate the quality of different health plans. The HEDIS® ‘Use of Appropriate Medications for People with Asthma’ measure assesses the presence of an asthma controller medication dispensing in patients who meet healthcare utilization criteria that suggest persistent asthma. The HEDIS® asthma measure has been criticized on the basis of poor sensitivity and specificity for identifying persistent asthma because just one asthma controller medication dispensing is unlikely to be effective, and because asthma controller medications are not all the same.
Optimal Bloom Filters and Adaptive Merging for LSM-Trees

In this article, we show that key-value stores backed by a log-structured merge-tree (LSM-tree) exhibit an intrinsic tradeoff between lookup cost, update cost, and main memory footprint, yet all existing designs expose a suboptimal and difficult to tune tradeoff among these metrics. We pinpoint the problem to the fact that modern key-value stores suboptimally co-tune the merge policy, the buffer size, and the Bloom filters’ false-positive rates across the LSM-tree’s different levels.We present Monkey, an LSM-tree based key-value store that strikes the optimal balance between the costs of updates and lookups with any given main memory budget. The core insight is that worst-case lookup cost is proportional to the sum of the false-positive rates of the Bloom filters across all levels of the LSM-tree. Contrary to state-of-the-art key-value stores that assign a fixed number of bits-per-element to all Bloom filters, Monkey allocates memory to filters across different levels so as to minimize the sum of their false-positive rates. We show analytically that Monkey reduces the asymptotic complexity of the worst-case lookup I/O cost, and we verify empirically using an implementation on top of RocksDB that Monkey reduces lookup latency by an increasing margin as the data volume grows (50--80% for the data sizes we experimented with). Furthermore, we map the design space onto a closed-form model that enables adapting the merging frequency and memory allocation to strike the best tradeoff among lookup cost, update cost and main memory, depending on the workload (proportion of lookups and updates), the dataset (number and size of entries), and the underlying hardware (main memory available, disk vs. flash). We show how to use this model to answer what-if design questions about how changes in environmental parameters impact performance and how to adapt the design of the key-value store for optimal performance.
A rule-based semantic approach for data integration, standardization and dimensionality reduction utilizing the UMLS: Application to predicting bariatric surgery outcomes

Utilization of existing clinical data for improving patient outcomes poses a number of challenging and complex problems involving lack of data integration, the absence of standardization across inhomogeneous data sources and computationally-demanding and time-consuming exploration of very large datasets. In this paper, we will present a robust semantic data integration, standardization and dimensionality reduction method to tackle and solve these problems. Our approach enables the integration of clinical data from diverse sources by resolving canonical inconsistencies and semantic heterogeneity as required by the National Library of Medicine's Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) to produce standardized medical data. Through a combined application of rule-based semantic networks and machine learning, our approach enables a large reduction in dimensionality of the data and thus allows for fast and efficient application of data mining techniques to large clinical datasets. An example application of the techniques developed in our study is presented for the prediction of bariatric surgery outcomes.
An experimental method to directly measure DQE[Formula: see text] at k = 0 for 2D x-ray imaging systems.

The zero-frequency detective quantum efficiency (DQE), viz., DQE0, is defined as the ratio between output and input squared signal-to-noise ratio of an imaging system. In 1963, R. Shaw applied Fourier analysis to generalize DQE0 to the frequency-dependent DQE, i.e. DQE[Formula: see text]. Under conditions specified by Shaw, DQE[Formula: see text] is the same as DQE0 at k = 0. The experimental measurement of DQE[Formula: see text] involves the measurement of system modulation transfer function (MTF) and noise power spectrum (NPS). Although the measurement of MTF is straightforward, the experimental measurements of NPS[Formula: see text] encountered several challenges. As a result, some experimental methods may yield a nonphysical NPS value at k = 0, which makes the measured DQE(k)| k=0 deviate from the true zero-frequency DQE. This work presents new results from three aspects: 1) system drift is a significant error source when a large number of independent image acquisitions are involved in measuring NPS and DQE; 2) a cascaded systems analysis shows that the drift induces a global positive offset to the measured autocovariance function, and the offset is quantitatively related to the NPS error at k = 0; 3) based on the measured autocovariance data, drift-induced offset can be estimated, so that errors in the measured NPS(k)| k=0 and DQE(k)| k=0 can be corrected. Both numerical simulations with known ground truth for DQE0 and experimental studies were performed to validate the proposed measurement method. The results demonstrated that the method mitigates the undesirable influence of system drift in DQE(k)| k=0 and DQE0, allowing the measured values consistent with the classical definition of zero-frequency DQE.
TestLocal: just-in-time parametrized testing of local variables

Variables local to methods play an important role in implementing not only the logic of desired algorithms but also the control of global variables. The values of these variables dictate the paths to be taken while executing the program. While testing is an effective way to exercise the programs under test, the values of these local variables determines the reachability of execution paths. Hence, it is possible that these local variables control the execution of the program and thus may result in some paths never to be tested adequately. This paper introduces a methodology and a prototype tool, called "TestLocal", to enable testing of methods by changing the values of local variables at runtime thus enabling traversing the paths that are hard to execute. By changing the values of local variables during the execution, the unexpected paths are intentionally forced to be executed. In comparison with the existing approaches (e.g., Microsoft IntelliTest), the proposed methodology requires little to no modifications to the given code. The novelty of the proposed approach is that it integrates a constraint solver and a debugger to forcefully execute unreachable paths.
Reply to Liu et al.: ALK5-mediated tumor suppressor signaling through SMAD2 and SMAD3 in the uterus.

Our recent publications in PNAS (1, 2) describe the phenotypic effects of loss of activin-like kinase 5; transforming growth factor β receptor 1 (ALK5;TGFBR1) or Smad2 and Smad3 in the mouse uterus and are accompanied by a commentary by Li (3). Our conclusions are that this pathway acts as a tumor suppressor pathway, findings that are also supported by a recent paper (4). We appreciate the letter to the editor by Liu et al. (5); however, their analysis is performed utilizing data from uterine cancer samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and should be cautiously interpreted for the following reasons: [↵][1]2To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: mmatzuk{at}bcm.edu. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
Liver-Type Glutaminase GLS2 Is a Druggable Metabolic Node in Luminal-Subtype Breast Cancer

Efforts to target glutamine metabolism for cancer therapy have focused on the glutaminase isozyme GLS. The importance of the other isozyme, GLS2, in cancer has remained unclear, and it has been described as a tumor suppressor in some contexts. Here, we report that GLS2 is upregulated and essential in luminal-subtype breast tumors, which account for >70% of breast cancer incidence. We show that GLS2 expression is elevated by GATA3 in luminal-subtype cells but suppressed by promoter methylation in basal-subtype cells. Although luminal breast cancers resist GLS-selective inhibitors, we find that they can be targeted with a dual-GLS/GLS2 inhibitor. These results establish a critical role for GLS2 in mammary tumorigenesis and advance our understanding of how to target glutamine metabolism in cancer.
Physiological Parameters of Bone Health in Elite Ballet Dancers.

Stress fractures are common among elite ballet dancers whereby musculoskeletal health may be affected by energy balance and overtraining. PURPOSE This study aimed to characterize bone health in relation to stress fracture history, body composition, eating disorder risk, and blood biomarkers in professional male and female ballet dancers. METHODS A single cohort of 112 dancers (male: 55, 25 ± 6 yr; female: 57, 24 ± 6 yr) was recruited. All participants underwent bone and body composition measures using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. In a subset of our cohort (male: 30, 24 ± 6 yr; female, 29, 23 ± 5 yr), a blood panel, disordered eating screen, menstrual history, and stress fracture history were also collected. Age-matched Z scores and young-adult T scores were calculated for bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition. Independent-samples t-tests and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare BMD, Z-scores, T scores, and those with and without history of stress fractures. A 1 × 3 ANOVA was used to compare BMD for those scoring 0-1, 2-6, and 7+ using the EAT26 questionnaire for eating disorder risk. Regression was used to predict BMD from demographic and body composition measures. RESULTS Female dancers demonstrated reduced spinal (42nd percentile, 10%T 1 on EAT26 had lower BMD than did those with a score of 0-1 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Professional female ballet dancers exhibit reduced BMD, fat mass, and lean mass compared with the general population whereby low BMD and stress fractures tend to be more prevalent in those with a higher risk of disordered eating. Anthropometric and demographic measures are predictive of BMD in this population.
Of flesh and blood: death, creatureliness, and incarnational ambivalence toward the Divine

Abstract From the perspective of terror management theory (TMT), the human body is problematic as it reminds people of their creaturely nature and vulnerability to death. However, individuals often turn to their religion to obtain a sense of meaning and value (e.g., a literal belief in an afterlife) to elevate themselves above the natural world. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the associative link between existential concerns, animal-nature disgust, and spirituality. We will begin with an overview of TMT, followed by a discussion of research on heightened body-nature disgust (e.g., body fluids, physical sex) when reminders of death are salient. The chapter will then explore how creaturely concerns affect people’s efforts to maintain religious and spiritual purity (e.g., commandments and rituals), with particular emphasis on incarnational ambivalence toward the Divine. Finally, we will extend our analysis to the dehumanization and objectification of women as many religions provide strict guidelines on regulating threats associated with the female form (i.e., menstruation, childbirth). Implications of a terror management analysis for how religion helps to distinguish us from the natural world will be discussed throughout.
Compliant membranes for the development of MEMS dual-backplate capacitive microphone using the SUMMiT V fabrication process.

The objective of this project is the investigation of compliant membranes for the development of a MicroElectrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS) microphone using the Sandia Ultraplanar, Multilevel MEMS Technology (SUMMiT V) fabrication process. The microphone is a dual-backplate capacitive microphone utilizing electrostatic force feedback. The microphone consists of a diaphragm and two porous backplates, one on either side of the diaphragm. This forms a capacitor between the diaphragm and each backplate. As the incident pressure deflects the diaphragm, the value of each capacitor will change, thus resulting in an electrical output. Feedback may be used in this device by applying a voltage between the diaphragm and the backplates to balance the incident pressure keeping the diaphragm stationary. The SUMMiT V fabrication process is unique in that it can meet the fabrication requirements of this project. All five layers of polysilicon are used in the fabrication of this device. The SUMMiT V process has been optimized to provide low-stress mechanical layers that are ideal for the construction of the microphone's diaphragm. The use of chemical mechanical polishing in the SUMMiT V process results in extremely flat structural layers and uniform spacing between the layers, both of which are critical to the successfulmore » fabrication of the MEMS microphone. The MEMS capacitive microphone was fabricated at Sandia National Laboratories and post-processed, packaged, and tested at the University of Florida. The microphone demonstrates a flat frequency response, a linear response up to the designed limit, and a sensitivity that is close to the designed value. Future work will focus on characterization of additional devices, extending the frequency response measurements, and investigating the use of other types of interface circuitry.« less
Abstract WP61: Artificial Intelligence for Automated Detection of Large Vessel Occlusion Strokes

Introduction: Identification of Large Vessel Occlusion (LVO) in acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients is critical for proper decision-making. Limited availability of trained experts and delays in LV...
Capillary folding of patterned polymer polyhedra

This paper presents a method to fabricate SU8 photopolymer and carbon polyhedral structures. First, patterned origami films with fewer cross-linked compliant folds and more cross-linked stiff faces are produced through differential UV exposure. The obtained patterned films are heated to increase their compliance by increasing polymer chain mobility. These softened films with designated compliant fold regions are then folded towards their target polyhedral shape using capillary forces induced by droplets deposited on top of them. The polyhedral shape of the folded films is locked in position by cooling them to room temperature and subsequently completing their cross-linking by an additional UV exposure step. The obtained polymer polyhedral structures can be converted into isometrically shrunken carbon structures through pyrolysis. This method for fabricating three-dimensional carbon polyhedra opens new ways to potentially fabricate complex structures of different material and surface properties through techniques such as electroplating and electroless deposition.
Current investigations on clinical pharmacology and therapeutics of Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency.

Glucose-6-phospate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is estimated to affect more than 400 million people world-wide. This X-linked genetic deficiency puts stress on red blood cells (RBC), which may be further augmented under certain pathophysiological conditions and drug treatments. These conditions can cause hemolytic anemia and eventually lead to multi-organ failure and mortality. G6PD is involved in the rate-limiting step of the pentose phosphate pathway, which generates reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH). In RBCs, the NADPH/G6PD pathway is the only source for recycling reduced glutathione and provides protection from oxidative stress. Susceptibility of G6PD deficient populations to certain drug treatments and potential risks of hemolysis are important public health issues. A number of clinical trials are currently in progress investigating clinical factors associated with G6PD deficiency, validation of new diagnostic kits for G6PD deficiency, and evaluating drug safety, efficacy, and pathophysiology. More than 25 clinical studies in G6PD populations are currently in progress or have just been completed that have been examined for clinical pharmacology and potential therapeutic implications of G6PD deficiency. The information on clinical conditions, interventions, purpose, outcome, and status of these clinical trials has been studied. A critical review of ongoing clinical investigations on pharmacology and therapeutics of G6PD deficiency should be highly important for researchers, clinical pharmacologists, pharmaceutical companies, and global public health agencies. The information may be useful for developing strategies for treatment and control of hemolytic crisis and potential drug toxicities in G6PD deficient patients.