cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
EVALUATING THE CENTRALISED INTRAVENOUS ADDITIVE SERVICE OFFERED TO THE PAEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT AT A TERTIARY CENTRE

Objectives To evaluate the utility of the Central Intravenous Additive Service (CIVAS) offered to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) including determining the percentage of items being ordered by nurses and the proportion of doses ordered which are administered to patients. Method Data was collected each weekday over a 2 week period. All drug charts with drugs prescribed that could be made in CIVAS were recorded. The Electronic Patient Record system used to order CIVAS products was checked and the number of drugs ordered per patient recorded. Nurses were questioned regarding which products had been administered during that shift. Information was reconciled against numbers of CIVAS syringes remaining in the ward fridges. Data was analysed using Excel. Results There were a total of 57 prescriptions for drugs which were suitable to be made in CIVAS. Of these potential items 63% (n=36) had been ordered. 56% (n=32) by nursing staff and 7% (n=4) by a clinical pharmacist. Of those ordered 30.5% (n=11) were administered to the patient, and a further 30.5% were available for administration over the weekend. 39% (n=14) of the drugs prepared by CIVAS were not administered leading to wastage. Reasons for not administering included drug stopping before product arrived on ward, dose changing and patient discharged. Of the incidences where a CIVAS product could have been used, but was not, over two thirds were because the prescription had been initiated after the cut off time for ordering. Conclusion Utility of the CIVA service to PICU is limited by the fact that it is only available Monday to Friday and ordered only once a day. The current service appears to be inefficient with only two thirds of preparations made being suitable for administration. A complete review of service is therefore required to look at the financial and safety aspects. Potential solutions include increasing the service to 7 days per week, making ordering a ward round led activity or switching the staff responsibly for ordering. It would also be worth considering batch production of dose banded products or a “Decentralised” Intravenous Additive Service (DIVAS) which would potentially more responsive to ward‘s needs.
Use and abuse of carotid sinus stimulation.

The effect of carotid sinus stimulation on a tachyarrhythmia, or sometimes the absence of an effect, can be helpful in differential diagnosis. The procedure is also used in therapy of some arrhythmias. Abuse relates to the danger of inducing ventricular fibrillation in patients with digitalis intoxication and to the possibility of precipitating long ventricular standstill in elderly persons.
Long Live Vinylidene! A New View of the H2CC: → HC⋮CH Rearrangement from ab Initio Molecular Dynamics

We present complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations of the preparation of the metastable species vinylidene, and its subsequent, highly exothermic isomerization to acetylene, via electron removal from vinylidene anion (D2CC- → D2CC: → DC⋮CD). After equilibrating vinylidene anion-d2 at either 600 ± 300 K (slightly below the isomerization barrier) or 1440 K ± 720 K (just above the isomerization barrier), we remove an electron to form a vibrationally excited singlet vinylidene-d2 and follow its dynamical evolution for 1.0 ps. Remarkably, we find that none of the vinylidenes equilibrated at 600 K and only 20% of the vinylidenes equilibrated at 1440 K isomerized, suggesting average lifetimes >1 ps for vibrationally excited vinylidene-d2. Since the anion and neutral vinylidene are structurally similar, and yet extremely different geometrically from the isomerization transition state (TS), neutral vinylidene is not formed near the TS so that it must li...
Editorial: Defining the Risk of Small Polyps: Potential Value of CTC

Although the clinical importance of large colorectal polyps and the benign nature of diminutive polyps are generally accepted, elucidating the clinical significance of small polyps (6-9 mm) could have an enormous impact on colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. Serial volumetric measurement via CTC may be a valuable method for assessing changes in polyp size. With the recognition of alternative CRC pathways, a more precise understanding of the natural history of small colorectal polyps is needed and data such as those reported by Nolthenius contribute to that knowledge.
Optimizing Network Patching Policy Decisions

Patch management of networks is essential to mitigate the risks from the exploitation of vulnerabilities through malware and other attacks, but by setting too rigorous a patching policy for network devices the IT security team can also create burdens for IT operations or disruptions to the business. Different patch deployment timelines could be adopted with the aim of reducing this operational cost, but care must be taken not to substantially increase the risk of emergency disruption from potential exploits and attacks. In this paper we explore how the IT security policy choices regarding patching timelines can be made in terms of economically-based decisions, in which the aim is to minimize the expected overall costs to the organization from patching-related activity. We introduce a simple cost function that takes into account costs incurred from disruption caused by planned patching and from expected disruption caused by emergency patching. To explore the outcomes under different patching policies we apply a systems modelling approach and Monte Carlo style simulations. The results from the simulations show disruptions caused for a range of patch deployment timelines. These results together with the cost function are then used to identify the optimal patching timelines under different threat environment conditions and taking into account the organization’s risk tolerance.
Effect and side effects of apraclonidine

Apraclonidine is a alpha 2 adrenergic agonic which is a para-amino derivative of clonidine. This molecular alteration helps prevent apraclonidine from crossing the blood-brain barrier so it minimally influences the heart rate and blood pressure. Apraclonidine reduces the intraocular pressure primarily by an aqueous suppressant mechanism. Its ocular hypotensive efficacy as monotherapy is similar to timolol maleate 0.5% up to eight hours post dosing, but is less than timolol maleate by 12 hours following instillation. As an adjunctive agent apraclonidine decreases the intraocular pressure approximately 16% over that of timolol maleate done. These clinical effects are stable out of three months after the initiation of therapy. Apraclonidine is also additive to maximally tolerated medical therapy. As many as 60% of these patients do not require additional therapy after adding apraclonidine for as long as five months. Apraclonidine also is useful to prevent transiently increased intraocular pressure following anterior segment laser procedures and intraocular surgery. Apraclonidine is well tolerated systemically with no serious adverse event attributed previously to this medicine. The most common ocular side effect is anterior segment intolerance in between 8-36% of patients. Symptoms of itching, as well as burning, and signs of conjunctival inflammation may appear. The intolerance quickly resolves upon discontinuation of the medicine. In summary, apraclonidine is useful in chronic therapy for chronic open-angle glaucoma and helping to prevent acute increased intraocular pressure following anterior segment laser procedures.
Influencing Perception About Children with Autism and their Parents Using Disclosure Cards

Parents of children with autism often report feeling judged and are increasingly using disclosure cards to reduce negative perceptions. However, no empirical research has been conducted on the effectiveness of these cards. The present study used vignettes of a parent-child interaction in which the child was misbehaving and investigated the efficacy on 160 parents' perceptions. A unique survey was developed with two factors (Maternal Skill Deficit and Negative Reaction) and a single item (Sympathy for Mother). Those who received the disclosure card reported significantly lower Maternal Skill Deficit and Negative Reaction to the Dyad and no difference in Sympathy for the Mother. These results provide preliminary validation for the use of autism disclosure cards in buffering negative judgment.
Treatment of common pediatric CNS malignancies with proton therapy

Radiation therapy plays an important role in the management of pediatric CNS malignancies. With the improving outcomes of these patients, the potential risk of late toxicities present with current radiation therapy techniques (i.e., 3D-CRT, IMRT, VMAT) has become apparent. Proton therapy (PRT), due to its unique physical characteristics, provides an advantage in reducing unintended dose to normal tissue structures, and the resultant acute and late side effects of this dose “bath”. In this review we will highlight the current standards of care, and the benefits achieved with using PRT in treating common childhood CNS tumors.
Seeing-as and Religious Experience

Much has been written during the last twenty years or so under the stimulus of Wittgenstein’s remarks on religion. Indeed we have in the writings of D. Z. Phillips and others what is often referred to as the neo-Wittgensteinian philosophy of religion, according to which religious language constitutes an essentially autonomous language-game’ with its own internal criteria of truth, immune to challenge or criticism from those who do not participate in that language-game. From a religious point of view it is an attractive feature of this position that it acknowledges the right of the believer to his/her beliefs and practices. On the other hand, however, in doing this it (in my view) cuts the heart out of that religious belief and practice. For the importance of religious beliefs to the believer lies ultimately in the assumption that they are substantially true references to the nature of reality; and the importance of religious practices to the practitioner lies in the assumption that through them one is renewing or deepening one’s relationship to the transcendent divine Reality. The cost, of course, of making such metaphysical claims in the secular world of today is that they inevitably provoke controversy; and a corresponding benefit of the contrary view is that such controversy is avoided.
Influence of gestational diabetes mellitus on human umbilical vein endothelial cell miRNA

We aimed to identify miRNAs whose expression levels in fetal tissues are altered by exposure to a diabetic milieu and elucidate the impact on target protein expression. Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects both immediate and future disease risk in the offspring. We hypothesized that GDM alters miRNA expression in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) that may influence metabolic processes. A cross-sectional design compared differences in miRNA expression in HUVECs and target protein abundance in placentae between infants of women with GDM (IGDM) and infants born to normoglycaemic controls. miRNAs were identified using microarray profiling and literature review and validated by quantitative PCR (qPCR). In vitro transfection studies explored the impact of the miRNA on target protein expression. Expression of seven miRNA species, miR-30c-5p, miR-452-5p, miR-126-3p, miR-130b-3p, miR-148a-3p, miR-let-7a-5p and miR-let-7g-5p, was higher in the HUVECs of IGDM. Abundance of the catalytic subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase α1 (AMPKα1) was decreased in the HUVECs and BeWo cells (transformed trophoblast cell line) transfected with miR-130b and miR-148a mimics. AMPKα1 expression was also decreased in placental tissues of IGDM. The expression of several miRNAs were altered by in utero exposure to DM in infants of women whose dysglycaemia was very well controlled by current standards. Decreased expression of AMPKα1 as a result of increased levels of miR-130b and miR-148a may potentially explain the decrease in fat oxidation we reported in infants at 1 month of age and, if persistent, may predispose offspring to future metabolic disease.
Depression as Cultural Stigma

Wimberley contends there is a cultural stigma associated with depression in the African American community. She argues the cultural stigmatization of depression contributes to the crisis of depression among black clergy. Since depression has historically been viewed as “a sign of weakness” in the black community, an acknowledgment of depression proves problematic among clergy tasked with pointing people toward hope. Utilizing Donald Winnicott’s theories of “true” and “false” self, Wimberley describes how depressed pastors often construct false images of “self” through masking behaviors. She offers a Womanist critique by highlighting the dangers associated with depression in black female pastors in light of the cultural expectations that surround adhering to the “strong black woman” (SBW) motif.
ENUMERATION AND CONFIRMATION OF CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS

A number of media have been proposed for the enumeration and confirmation of Clostridium perfringens in food and water. Most of these employ sulfite and iron together with selective antibiotics. This report discusses these various media and conditions for their use.
MicroRNAs Mediate Resistance to Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Philadelphia-Positive B-ALL by Down-Regulating Key Tumor Suppressors

Abstract Abstract 2553 The Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome (t(9;22)(q34;q11)) is the most common recurrent cytogenetic abnormality in adult B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Resulting expression of the BCR-ABL fusion gene product, a constitutively active tyrosine kinase, leads to an extremely poor prognosis when the disease is treated with chemotherapy alone. In recent years targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in combination with chemotherapy has improved outcomes. Therapeutic resistance remains a major clinical problem, however, with less than half of patients surviving three years from initial therapy in most series even with up-front TKI-chemotherapy regimens. TKI resistance in B-ALL may result from acquired mutations of the BRC-ABL protein or from BCR-ABL-independent causes, including feedback activation of BCL6 or activation of other oncogenic signaling pathways through poorly understood mechanisms. In this study, we screened a whole-genome library of microRNAs for ability to produce resistance to TKI therapy in murine pro-B cells transformed with BCR-ABL. Several initial candidates from the screen were individually confirmed to confer TKI resistance, including miR 148/152 and 19, known oncomirs in T-ALL. Computational analysis of the gene targets of validated miRs shows significant overlap at several tumor-suppressor pathways, including down-regulation of PTEN, a known mechanism of TKI resistance in Ph+ B-ALL cell lines. In sum, we have identified a novel mechanism of TKI resistance in Ph+ B-ALL mediated by miRs and leading to down-regulation of specific tumor suppressive intermediates. These findings will allow development of new therapeutic combinations to improve outcomes for B-ALL patients. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Microbial Communities Associated With Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Larvae and Their Developmental Substrates

Bacteria are essential for stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans (L.)) larval survival and development, but little is known about the innate microbial communities of stable flies, and it is not known if their varied dietary substrates influence their gut microbial communities. This investigation utilized 454 sequencing of 16S and 18S amplicons to characterize and compare the bacterial and eukaryotic microbial communities in stable fly larvae and their developmental substrates. The microbial community of the third-instar stable fly larvae is unambiguously distinct from the microbial community of the supporting substrate, with bacterial communities from larvae reared on different substrates more similar to each other than to the communities from their individual supporting substrates. Bacterial genera that were more abundant proportionally in larvae compared to their substrates were Erysipelothrix, Dysgonomonas, Ignatzschineria (Gammaproteobacteria), and Campylobacter (Epsilonprotobacteria). The alphaproteobacteria Devosia, Brevundimonas, Sphingopyxix, and Paracoccus were more abundant proportionally in field substrates compared to their larvae. The main genera responsible for differences between the positive and negative field substrates were Dysgonomonas and Proteiniphilum. In contrast to Dysgonomonas, Proteiniphilum was more abundant in substrate than in the larvae. A large number of sequences were assigned to an unclassified protest of the superphylum Alveolata in larvae and their substrate. Microscopy validated these findings and a previously undescribed gregarine (phylum Apicomplexa, class Conoidasida) was identified in stable fly larvae and adults.
Stochastic finite element analysis of frames with flexible connections

A procedure is proposed in this paper for the stochastic finite element analysis of frames with stochastic connection rigidity. A beam-column element is used to simulate the connection and its bending stiffness is assumed to be equal to the tangent stiffness of the connection, given by the slope of the moment-rotation curve. The randomness in the rigidity is then taken into account in the subsequent stochastic analysis of the frame. The proposed method is illustrated with the help of a numerical example.
Servitized business model innovation for sustainable transportation: Case study of failure to bridge the design-implementation gap

Abstract The goal of this study is to assess whether servitized business models, may potentially be emulated to overcome similar technological challenges between industries. To address this gap in the literature, the case study empirically investigates a company that attempted to apply a pay-per-use model to sustainable transportation, based on its success in the telecommunications industry. Information collected from the interviews and from secondary external data is used to juxtapose between the industries. The Cambridge business model innovation process provides a framework to analyze the company's development stages. Results indicate that the company didn't succeed to bridge the design-implementation gap because it failed to acknowledge key marketing differences between industries. While cross-industry innovation offers entrepreneurial opportunities, organizations should consider the constraints imposed by the scale of investment required to build supportive infrastructure before emulating servitized business models. The study concludes with implications which may provide useful lessons to other sustainable transportation projects in-progress, such as Tesla and Riversimple, in terms of business model, technology, and prospects for commercialization. Finally, fruitful avenue for future research that can build on and extend this discussion is the investigation of servitized business models for the self-driving cars industry.
Technology 2.0: A Commentary on Progress, Challenges, and Next Steps:

This commentary highlights the importance and promise of the innovative strategies described in the Child Maltreatment special issue on "Technology 2.0: A Focus on the Newest Technological Advances in Child Maltreatment Research." The commentary first highlights the collective advancements reflected in the articles in the special issue, with a primary focus on how the authors' work addresses a general challenge in services research that is perhaps nowhere more problematic than in the field of maltreatment. Next, the commentary extends the discussion of these articles to raise remaining gaps in our knowledge, theory, and methodology, which must be the focus of ongoing research if the true potential of technology as a service delivery vehicle is to be realized. Finally, the commentary concludes with a call for subsequent research which will be inspired by the articles in this special issue.
Financial Distress Risk and Momentum Effects: Evidence from China’s Stock Market

I examine the relation of distress risk to size, book-to-market, and momentum effects in China’s stock market. Consistent with the market underreaction hypothesis, I find that distressed firms underperform non-distressed firms in China’s stock market and the momentum factor proxies for distress risk in our sample period. My study also shows that the explanatory power of the momentum effect is subsumed when the distress factor is present.
Mécanismes de coupe induits par le brochage d’un acier inoxydable ferrito-martensitique

Ce document presente les resultats issus de travaux de these inities en vue de l’amelioration de la comprehension des phenomenes physiques induits par une operation de brochage. Dans ce but, un Etat de l’Art etendu presentant les pratiques technologiques, ainsi que les etudes scientifiques du brochage est presente. Ce memoire de these se poursuit par une presentation de l’etude elementaire de la coupe en brochage. Dans cette section, un grand nombre de parametres ont ete varies sur une large plage de mesure, en se focalisant dans un premier temps sur l’etude de l’etat de surface, puis sur la morphologie du copeau. La section suivante traite de la mise en place d’applications industrielles issues des resultats de ces travaux de these. Il y est par exemple question de la prediction des efforts de brochage, ou d’une methode innovante de denombrement des brise-copeaux. Ce document se clos par plusieurs etudes numeriques, traitant de l’influence de la rigidite de la dent et de la piece brochee, ou visant a comprendre les mecanismes d’enroulement du copeau. En ce qui concerne ce dernier point, une nouvelle methode de simulation numerique iterative de la coupe a ete mise en place, a l’origine d’une diminution substantielle des temps de calcul.
Lithium Niobate Electro-Optic Racetrack Modulator Etched in Y-Cut LNOI Platform

An electro-optic modulator (EOM) based on a racetrack resonator coupled to a waveguide using butterfly multi-mode interference (MMI) coupler is fabricated on Y-cut lithium niobate (LN) thin film. This is the first demonstration of a LN EOM in which the thin film of LN is etched in a Y-cut substrate using chlorine-based inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching, a process, which is readily compatible with semiconductor fabrication facility. The Y-cut LNOI platform is interesting for the integration of electro-optic and acousto-optic components, since differently from any other LN cut it facilitates taking advantage of the maximum electro-optic and piezoelectric coefficients of LN. Coupling to the racetrack was enabled using a butterfly MMI coupler, which offered operation near the critical coupling condition, hence increasing the extinction ratio (ER) of the modulator. An unloaded quality factor of 1.3 × 105 was extracted for this device, which is equivalent to a propagation loss of 2.3 dB/cm. Modulation bandwidth of 4 GHz, wavelength tuning rate of 0.32 pm/V, and an ER of more than 10 dB were experimentally measured for the EOM.
Investing in the Competition

We expect competitors to act as each other's foes. Yet some companies own equity stakes in their competitors. The Article explores this phenomenon of companies owning about 5-15% of the competition and conjectures a few explanations for this investment strategy. The focus of the Article is on the 'barrier to team formation' motivation; investment in the competition that amounts to an anti-takeover mechanism. The Article suggests that companies invest in the competition to deter a third competitor from joining forces with the competition. This anti-takeover mechanism is unique, it is initiated and controlled by a person who is not a fiduciary of the company and who owes no duties to the company's shareholders, but rather is controlled by a competitor (who owns fiduciary duties to its own shareholders). While the managers enjoy the entrenchment provided by the anti-takeover mechanism, they do not control it. And unlike the customary anti-takeover mechanisms, the shareholders cannot bring a derivative suit to restrict it, there is no judicial review of the mechanism, and shareholder pressure cannot relieve it. Thus, the shareholders are vulnerable and are exposed to agency costs, while management is entrenched by this anti-takeover mechanism installed by the competitor. In order to prevent the anti-takeover effect of investing in the competition, the article proposes to amend the bidding rules and allow a special split bid that will level the playing field for potential bidders.
Information Foraging—A Model for Exploration Breadth and Depth

ABSTRACTThe optimal path choice theory from biology implies that foragers should evaluate all sites before selecting something feasible when site relocation costs are low and there are few sites to...
Thick Filament Protein Network, Functions, and Disease Association

Sarcomeres consist of highly ordered arrays of thick myosin and thin actin filaments along with accessory proteins. Thick filaments occupy the center of sarcomeres where they partially overlap with thin filaments. The sliding of thick filaments past thin filaments is a highly regulated process that occurs in an ATP-dependent manner driving muscle contraction. In addition to myosin that makes up the backbone of the thick filament, four other proteins which are intimately bound to the thick filament, myosin binding protein-C, titin, myomesin, and obscurin play important structural and regulatory roles. Consistent with this, mutations in the respective genes have been associated with idiopathic and congenital forms of skeletal and cardiac myopathies. In this review, we aim to summarize our current knowledge on the molecular structure, subcellular localization, interacting partners, function, modulation via posttranslational modifications, and disease involvement of these five major proteins that comprise the thick filament of striated muscle cells. © 2018 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 8:631-709, 2018.
Müller cell expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein after genetic and experimental photoreceptor degeneration in the rat retina.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is normally found in astrocytes. In the normal rat retina at all ages, only astrocytes stain for GFAP. This staining pattern is also found in RCS rats with inherited retinal dystrophy younger than 38 days. Beginning on day 38, when about 61% of the photoreceptors have degenerated, a few GFAP-positive fibers span the retina from the inner limiting membrane to the external limiting membrane. By day 41 and at all later ages examined, the radial fibers of Muller cells is a response to photoreceptor necrosis or might be a direct effect of the mutant gene, we induced photoreceptor degeneration in normal, adult Sprague-Dawley rats by exposing them to constant light for variable periods of time. After 3 days in constant light, there is a 20% reduction in the number of photoreceptors and many Muller cells are positive for GFAP. Immunoblot studies confirmed that the anti-GFAP reacted with a single protein from retina that corresponded in molecular weight and Triton-insolubility to GFAP. The immunoblots also corroborated the results from anti-GFAP immunostaining of control and experimental retinas. These results indicate that Muller cells express GFAP immunoreactivity in response to experimentally as well as genetically induced photoreceptor degeneration.
Syrian hamsters express polymorphism at an MHC equivalent.

The classical inbred strains of Syrian hamsters, MHA, LSH, CB, and PD4, display strong cellular alloimmune reactions as indicated by acute skin graft rejection (1,2), strong mixed lymphocyte reactivity (1), and potent graft-vs-host reactivity (1,3); they are unable, however, to develop detectable alloantibody responses to strong histocompatibility determinants (4–6). This quality of the immune response to transplantation alloantigens appears to be unique in hamsters, since in all other species, strong transplantation alloantigens elicit potent alloantibody responses (7–12). Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain this paradox: 1. domesticated Syrian hamsters display a rather limited genetic polymorphism, i.e., because of their derivation from a restricted gene pool, they may differ only at several minor histocompatibility loci but not at a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) equivalent; 2. hamster B cells fail to recognize or respond to MHC-like determinants; 3. Syrian hamsters as a species display little or no polymorphism at their MHC equivalent, Hm-1.
Zakat as Social Balancing Tool: Influence of Zakat in Upholding Wealth Distribution and Social Imbalance

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to bring attention towards ideal economic system that has gone due to failure of other economic systems or ineffectiveness. Zakat system in Islamic economics considered one of the unequaled tools in kind to balance social inequalities and assisting reducing the gap between two extremes of income group and its distribution.Methodology: Review of articles and relevant text which revealed in Al Quran and in Sunna of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). Further reviewing of journals and research papers published in the area of wealth distribution and economic systems. Findings: It is being observed that equality of economic opportunities and distribution of wealth is one of the prominent areas since last two decades. Many economists argue and give several reasons but one of the fundamental reasons is distribution of wealth. The condition of poor class in modern civilization has been ignored that requires special care. Islam gives a special care to these poor and needy people in the society. Zakat is one tool that addresses such issues in the economic system of Islam. Through this paper we address the obligation of Zakat and ruling on those who deny it. Further the effectiveness of Zakat system on the individual lives and as a whole in the society. Zakat is the system that has to be use effectively for the reduction of the poverty and bringing equalities in societies.
Comparative Effectiveness of Prostate Cancer Treatment Options: Limitations of Retrospective Analysis of Cancer Registry Data.

Purpose Retrospective analyses of cancer registry and institutional data have consistently found better survival after radical prostatectomy versus radiation therapy, which contrasts with findings from a randomized trial. This is likely because of the inability of retrospective studies to fully account for comorbidity differences across treatment groups because of the lack of detailed data in the registries. We use a unique population-based data set with detailed data regarding comorbidities and functional limitations to assess whether this can provide valid comparisons of survival across prostate cancer treatment groups. Methods and Materials The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare Health Outcomes Survey (MHOS) data set results from a linkage between the SEER database and the MHOS database, which includes detailed information regarding patient-reported comorbidity and functional limitations. We analyzed 3102 patients with prostate cancer in SEER-MHOS and used latent class analysis to identify the healthiest group with minimal comorbidity burden and functional limitations. Among the healthiest group, we examined overall survival across treatments using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results Three distinct health groups were identified using latent class analysis; the healthiest group comprised 57% of the cohort and had a 10-year overall survival of 67%. Other health groups had higher rates of comorbidities or functional limitations. Among the healthiest group, 10-year overall survival differed across treatment groups: no local treatment (55%), external beam radiation therapy (69%), brachytherapy (76%), and radical prostatectomy (85%). Survival curves for the 3 treated groups separated at 4 years of follow-up. Conclusions Despite the detailed health status information available in SEER-MHOS, our retrospective analysis could not fully account for patient selection biases across prostate cancer treatment groups. These findings highlight an important limitation of retrospective studies using population-based data sets and serve as a reminder to interpret results with caution.
Bayesian analysis of seasonal variation when the sample size and the amplitude are small

ABSTRACTWe propose what appears to be the first Bayesian procedure for the analysis of seasonal variation when the sample size and the amplitude are small. Such data occur often in the medical sciences, where seasonality analyses and environmental considerations can help clarify disease etiologies. The method is explained in terms of a simple physico-geometric setting. We present the Bayesian version of a frequentist test that performs well. Two examples of real data illustrate the procedure's application.
Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I and Bilateral Optic Disc Edema

ABSTRACTMucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I or Hurler syndrome) is a multisystem genetic disorder caused by α-L-iduronidase (IDUA) deficiency, which leads to widespread accumulation of glycosaminog...
Feminism and avant-garde aesthetics in the Levantine novel

Feminism and Avant-Garde Aesthetics in the Levantine Novel is a valuable addition to the study of the relationship between gender, sexuality, and war in literature. It examines the connections betw...
IDDF2018-ABS-0040 Efficacy of low residue diet versus clear liquid diet for colonoscopy bowel preparation in special populations (elderly, diabetics, chronic kidney disease and chronic liver disease patients): a single-blinded randomised non-inferiority controlled trial

Background Ineffective bowel cleansing for colonoscopy results in missed precancerous lesions and increased cost related to early repeat procedures. Better tolerability of bowel preparation may improve patient‘s compliance and experience and may potentially improve their future participation in colorectal cancer prevention programs without compromising examination quality. The study aims to determine the efficacy and tolerability of low residue diet (LRD) on colonoscopy bowel preparation on special populations compared with the traditional clear liquid diet (CLD). Methods This study was a prospective single-blinded, randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. A total of 150 patients were included in the analysis. Patients were randomised to receive a low residue diet or a clear liquid diet. The primary outcome is the efficacy or adequacy of bowel preparation and was measured by the Boston Bowel Preparation Score (BBPS). Patient‘s tolerability, hunger score and overall satisfaction were assessed as secondary outcomes. Results Low residue diet (LRD) bowel preparation was non-inferior to Clear liquid diet (CLD) bowel preparation (LRD 7.00 vs CLD 6.9 p=0.7724). Overall, patient‘s tolerability and satisfaction were better in the LRD group than the CLD group. The present study showed that the proportion of patients having abdominal pain/cramping/discomfort and bloatedness were significantly lower in the LRD group (16% and 26.7%) compared to CLD group (34.7% and 44%). Conclusions Patients on an LRD for bowel preparation achieved an adequate bowel preparation that is non-inferior to patients on a CLD. Furthermore, the study showed that patients‘ tolerability and overall satisfaction were better on the LRD and more willing to repeat the same bowel regimen as compared to CLD.
MicroRNA-145 Regulates Pathological Retinal Angiogenesis by Suppression of TMOD3.

Pathological angiogenesis is a hallmark of various vascular diseases, including vascular eye disorders. Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs), a group of small regulatory RNAs, has been implicated in the regulation of ocular neovascularization. This study investigated the specific role of microRNA-145 (miR-145) in regulating vascular endothelial cell (EC) function and pathological ocular angiogenesis in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR). Expression of miR-145 was significantly upregulated in OIR mouse retinas compared with room air controls. Treatment with synthetic miR-145 inhibitors drastically decreased levels of pathological neovascularization in OIR, without substantially affecting normal developmental angiogenesis. In cultured human retinal ECs, treatment with miR-145 mimics significantly increased the EC angiogenic function, including proliferation, migration, and tubular formation, whereas miR-145 inhibitors attenuated in vitro angiogenesis. Tropomodulin3 (TMOD3), an actin-capping protein, is a direct miR-145 target and is downregulated in OIR retinas. Treatment with miR-145 mimic led to TMOD3 inhibition, altered actin cytoskeletal architecture, and elongation of ECs. Moreover, inhibition of TMOD3 promoted EC angiogenic function and pathological neovascularization in OIR and abolished the vascular effects of miR-145 inhibitors in vitro and in vivo. Overall, our findings indicate that miR-145 is a novel regulator of TMOD3-dependent cytoskeletal architecture and pathological angiogenesis and a potential target for development of treatments for neovascular eye disorders.
AGE-DEPENDENT CHANGES IN PARTICULATE AND SOLUBLE GUANYLYL CYCLASE ACTIVITIES IN URINARY TRACT SMOOTH MUSCLE

Regional and age specific differences are observed in the sodium nitroprusside induced relaxation responses in the urinary tract. To clarify these differences, guanylyl cyclase activity is assayed in particulate and soluble fractions from the ureter, bladder dome, and urethra of young (11-18 days), adult (90-100 days), and old adult (2-3 years) guinea pigs. The rank order of soluble guanylyl cyclase activities is urethra = ureter > bladder dome with the largest decreases with aging occurring in the bladder. Atrial natriuretic factor (10-7 M) increases particulate guanylyl cyclase activity in the three tissues at all ages tested, with the activity being highest in the ureter. ATP (0.5 mM) activates particulate guanylyl cyclase in the ureter, bladder and urethra of old adult guinea pigs, and enhances atrial natriuretic factor induced activation of particulate guanylyl cyclase in all tissues and at all ages tested. The higher levels of soluble guanylyl cyclase activity in the urethra and ureter compared to the bladder parallel sodium nitroprusside induced relaxation in these tissues.
'Many People Are Saying…': Applying the Lessons of Naïve Skepticism to the Fight against Fake News and Other 'Total Bullshit'

‘Fake news’ has become an increasingly common refrain in public discourse. The term itself has several uses, at least one of which constitutes Frankfurtian bullshit. After examining what sorts of fake news appeals do and do not count as bullshit, I discuss strategies for overcoming our openness to such bullshit. I do so by drawing a parallel between openness to bullshit and naive skepticism—one’s willingness to reject the concept of truth on unsupported or ill-considered grounds—and suggest that this parallel indicates three principles for how we ought to combat our openness to fake news and other bullshit. First, the root causes of bullshit openness are not monolithic; we should adopt anti-bullshit strategies in recognition of this fact. Second, our efforts to overcome bullshit openness should be collaborative efforts to create an environment that allows for sustained interrogation of our bullshit openness, rather than a confrontational provision of contrary evidence, despite the fact that such strategies are more time-intensive. Third, social media is unlikely to be a fertile ground on which we will make meaningful progress in the fight against bullshit because of the inherent nature of social media platforms as spaces for short, declarative, confrontational claims.
Minimax Optimal Convex Methods for Poisson Inverse Problems Under $\ell_{q}$ -Ball Sparsity

In this paper, we study the minimax rates and provide an implementable convex algorithm for Poisson inverse problems under weak sparsity and physical constraints. In particular, we assume the model $y_{i} \sim \mathrm {Poisson}(Ta_{i}^{\top }f^{*})$ for $1 \leq i \leq n$ , where $T \in \mathbb {R}_{+}$ is the intensity, and we impose weak sparsity on $f^{*} \in \mathbb {R}^{p}$ by assuming $f^{*}$ lies in an $\ell _{q}$ -ball when rotated according to an orthonormal basis $D \in \mathbb {R}^{p \times p}$ . In addition, since we are modeling real-physical systems, we also impose positivity and flux-preserving constraints on the matrix $A = [a_{1}, a_{2},\ldots, a_{n}]^{\top }$ and the function $f^{*}$ . We prove minimax lower bounds for this model, which scale as $R_{q} ({\log p}/{T})^{1 - ({q}/{2})}$ where it is noticeable that the rate depends on the intensity $T$ and not the sample size $n$ . We also show that an $\ell _{1}$ -based regularized least-squares estimator achieves this minimax lower bound, provided a suitable restricted eigenvalue condition is satisfied. Finally, we prove that provided $n \geq \tilde {K} \log p$ where $\tilde {K} = \Theta (R_{q} ({\log p}/{T})^{- ({q}/{2})})$ represents an approximate sparsity level, and our restricted eigenvalue condition and physical constraints are satisfied for random bounded ensembles. We also provide numerical experiments that validate our mean-squared error bounds. Our results address a number of open issues from prior work on Poisson inverse problems that focuses on strictly sparse models and does not provide guarantees for convex implementable algorithms.
Conceiving resilience: Lexical shifts and proximal meanings in the human-centered natural and built environment literature from 1990 to 2018

Abstract The complex dynamics of the human-centered natural and built environment (HNBE) have been characterized by emerging and diverging conceptions of resilience (e.g., climate resilience, disaster resilience, social-ecological resilience). Each resilience modifier has produced rich bodies of literature, drawing on distinctive meanings of the term “resilience.” As resilience modifiers have continued to multiply and evolve over the past three decades, the relationships among them have become less clear. This impedes effective management of resilience in a more integrated HNBE. To improve understanding of the evolution and commonalities of resilience modifiers, we surveyed 3,181 articles concerning seven resilience modifiers published from 1990 to 2018. Using bibliometric analysis tools, we clarify lexical meanings of these resilience concepts and find a convergence among them based on their shared concerns and intellectual genealogy. This converging conception of resilience may motivate and catalyze more integrated knowledge, methods, and expertise in understanding and managing resilience across disciplines.
Interdisciplinary approaches to revitalizing undergraduate computing education

"Through the CISE Pathways to Revitalized Undergraduate Computing Education (CPATH) program, NSF's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is challenging its partners - colleges, universities and other stakeholders committed to advancing the field of computing and its impact - to transform undergraduate computing education on a national scale, to meet the challenges and opportunities of a world where computing is essential to U.S. leadership and economic competitiveness across all sectors of society." [4] One approach to such revitalization is the introduction of interdisciplinary courses to expand the scope of computing education. This approach has its roots in programs such as Lynn Stein's "small footprint" core [2] and Georgia Tech's "threads" [3]. The basic idea is to have students from various disciplines work together on computing projects to expand their educational horizons and make computing courses more appealing. This panel brings together educators who have developed and taught interdisciplinary courses with these goals in mind. The panelists will share their experiences and solicit new ideas from the audience. We expect a lively discussion on the pros and cons of this approach.
Classical limits of gauge-invariant states and the choice of algebra for strict quantization

We analyze the quantization of a system consisting of a particle in an external Yang–Mills field within a C*-algebraic framework. We show that in both the classical and quantum theories of such a system, the kinematical algebra of physical quantities can be obtained by restricting attention to symmetry-invariant states on a C*-algebra. We use this to show that symmetry-invariant quantum states correspond to symmetry-invariant classical states in the classical limit.
Invoking Principles of Groupware to Develop and Evaluate Present and Future Human-Agent Teams

Advances in artificial intelligence are constantly increasing its validity as a team member enabling it to effectively work alongside humans and other artificial teammates. Unfortunately, the digital nature of artificial teammates and their restrictive communication and coordination requirements complicate the interaction patterns that exist. In light of this challenge, we create a theoretical framework that details the possible interactions in human-agent teams, emphasizing interactions through groupware, which is based on literature regarding groupware and human-agent teamwork. As artificial intelligence changes and advances, the interaction in human-agent teams will also advance, meaning interaction frameworks and groupware must adapt to these changes. We provide examples and a discussion of the frameworks ability to adapt based on advancements in relevant research areas like natural language processing and artificial general intelligence. The results are a framework that detail human-agent interaction throughout the coming years, which can be used to guide groupware development.
Blueberry phenolics are associated with cognitive enhancement in supplemented healthy older adults

Blueberries (BB) contain an array of bioactive phenolic compounds that may play a protective role against various age-related diseases. Here we explored the metabolic fate of BB phenolics and their relationship to cognitive function after chronic (90 days) supplementation of freeze-dried BB (24 g d-1, equivalent to 1 cup of fresh BB) or control in a randomized, double-blind, parallel study with 38 healthy older adults (60-75 years). Blood samples were collected at fasting (t = 0 h) and 2 h after a breakfast meal on days 0 (no treatment), 45, and 90, and a battery of cognitive tests was also conducted on these days. Hippuric acid, phloroglucinaldehyde, syringic acid, ferulic acid-glucuronide, cyanidin-3-O-galactoside, cyanidin-3-O-glucoside, malvidin-3-O-galactoside, malvidin-3-O-glucoside, peonidin-3-O-xyloside, peonidin glucuronide, and petunidin-3-O-glucoside concentrations were significantly altered after 90 days of BB consumption compared to control. Stepwise regression was used to assess the relationship between significantly altered concentrations of plasma phenolics and observed improvements in cognition. Among participants in the BB group, changes in switch errors on the task-switching test (TST) from day 0 to 90 were associated with changes in postprandial levels of plasma ferulic acid-glucuronide, syringic acid, and malvidin-3-galactoside (R2 = 0.521, p < 0.05). Changes in repetition errors on the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT-II) from day 0 to 90 were associated with changes in postprandial levels of ferulic acid-glucuronide, syringic acid, and hippuric acid (R2 = 0.807, p < 0.001). These findings demonstrate that the addition of easily achievable quantities of BB to the diets of older adults significantly alters levels of circulating phenolic compounds which are related to improvements in cognition.