cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Dose Chemotherapy with Thiotepa, Mitoxantrone and Carboplatin (TMJ) Followed by Autologous Stem Cell Support in 100 Consecutive Lymphoma Patients in a Single Centre: Analysis of Efficacy, Toxicity and Prognostic Factors

High dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell transplant is often used in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who either do not respond to, or relapse after conventional chemotherapy. There is no consensus on the "ideal" pretransplant conditioning regimen. In this study, we analyzed the results of 100 consecutive patients with HD and NHL who met our eligibility criteria and underwent autologous stem cell transplant at New York Medical College and Zalmen A. Arlin Cancer Institute. All patients received high dose chemotherapy with thiotepa, mitoxantrone and carboplatin (TMJ). One hundred patients, 37 with HD and 63 with NHL underwent autologous stem cell transplant using TMJ as a conditioning regimen. All patients with HD had chemo-sensitive relapse while 50 patients with NHL had chemo-sensitive relapse and 13 patients had first complete remission. The source of stem cells was bone marrow (18 patients), peripheral blood (50 patients) and both bone marrow and peripheral b...
Emotions in Culturally-Constituted Relational Worlds

Dichotomized accounts of emotions and culture, which tend to carve complex human emotional life fields into two pre-defined conceptual poles, are challenged to consider continuities and discontinui...
On the Achievability in Cooperative Amplify and Forward Wireless Relay Network

We analyze the characteristics and performance of a wireless ad hoc network where nodes are connected via random channels and information is transported in the network in a cooperative multihop fashion using amplify and forward relay strategy. We characterize the network by studying important parameters such as: (1) SNR degradation with hop, (2) outage probability, (3) maximum permissible number of hops, and (4) maximum permissible number of simultaneous transmissions. We then devise a method for node selection and transmission of information across the network over disjoint routes between source and destination nodes by employing standard constructs from graph theory. Based on the above results, we evaluate the throughput achievable in the network and its asymptotic scaling as function of the number of nodes in the network for a given channel distribution.
A SNP resource for Douglas-fir: de novo transcriptome assembly and SNP detection and validation

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), one of the most economically and ecologically important tree species in the world, also has one of the largest tree breeding programs. Although the coastal and interior varieties of Douglas-fir (vars. menziesii and glauca) are native to North America, the coastal variety is also widely planted for timber production in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Chile. Our main goal was to develop a SNP resource large enough to facilitate genomic selection in Douglas-fir breeding programs. To accomplish this, we developed a 454-based reference transcriptome for coastal Douglas-fir, annotated and evaluated the quality of the reference, identified putative SNPs, and then validated a sample of those SNPs using the Illumina Infinium genotyping platform. We assembled a reference transcriptome consisting of 25,002 isogroups (unique gene models) and 102,623 singletons from 2.76 million 454 and Sanger cDNA sequences from coastal Douglas-fir. We identified 278,979 unique SNPs by mapping the 454 and Sanger sequences to the reference, and by mapping four datasets of Illumina cDNA sequences from multiple seed sources, genotypes, and tissues. The Illumina datasets represented coastal Douglas-fir (64.00 and 13.41 million reads), interior Douglas-fir (80.45 million reads), and a Yakima population similar to interior Douglas-fir (8.99 million reads). We assayed 8067 SNPs on 260 trees using an Illumina Infinium SNP genotyping array. Of these SNPs, 5847 (72.5%) were called successfully and were polymorphic. Based on our validation efficiency, our SNP database may contain as many as ~200,000 true SNPs, and as many as ~69,000 SNPs that could be genotyped at ~20,000 gene loci using an Infinium II array—more SNPs than are needed to use genomic selection in tree breeding programs. Ultimately, these genomic resources will enhance Douglas-fir breeding and allow us to better understand landscape-scale patterns of genetic variation and potential responses to climate change.
Management and Outcome of Left Ventricular Distention During Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support

s S83 follow-up was contrasted between pts who were crossed-over to a more durable MCS within 3 days (Early MCS), not crossed-over until 4 days or later (Late MCS), and those not crossed-over at all (Control). Results: 62 pts were included in the study. Mean age at ECMO implant was 50.4 ± 14.7 years and 33.9% of pts were female. Of 62 pts, 10 (16.1%) crossed-over ≤ 3 days to a more durable MCS (Early MCS), 18 (29.0%) crossed-over > 4 days (Late MCS), and 34 (54.8%) did not crossover (Control). There were no statistically significant differences across the groups in regards to mean age at ECMO implant, Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support profile, ischemic etiology, preimplant intra-aortic balloon pump, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (all p-values > 0.05). Survival was significantly different across the groups (LogRank, p= 0.008) with Early MCS demonstrating improved survival over both the Late MCS group (p= 0.004) and the Control group (p= 0.003) (Figure 1). The hazard ratio of death as a function of days to device crossover was 1.215 (95% CI: 1.034 1.429, Cox regression, p= 0.018) suggesting a 21.5% increased risk of death for each day a pt on ECMO is not crossed to a more durable MCS. Conclusion: In this retrospective analysis early crossover from ECMO to a more durable MCS is associated with improved survival. Late crossover is associated with poor outcomes comparable to pts who did not receive durable MCS.
“Good obstetrics” revisited: Too many evidence-based practices and devices are not used

Introduction: As countries are designing and implementing strategies to address maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity (Millennium Development Goals 5 and 4), it appears that a large number of evidence-based obstetric practices are not used in many settings, and this is a major obstacle to the improvement of quality obstetric care. Objectives: To remind readers of the existing, relatively easy-to-implement, evidence-based interventions that are currently not being universally applied in obstetric care and, second, to foster research to expand the evidence base further for obstetric care practices and devices, especially those that could be used in resource-poor settings. Methods: We review possible reasons why changes into practices are difficult to obtain, and we list the key evidence-based interventions known to effectively deal with the main obstetric complications, with supporting references and sources of documentation. We also list some promising interventions that require more research before being recommended. Conclusion: Professionals and health services managers have a crucial role in producing the best quality obstetric and neonatal care through implementing the listed evidence-based interventions and make them accessible to all pregnant women and their newborns without delay, even in poor settings. Reasons for which progress is slow should be addressed. One of these reasons being the lack of access to scientific knowledge from the part of professionals in developing countries, we give the key references and also websites which are freely accessible through the Internet. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate the discussion on the dissemination and use of good obstetric practices, and contribute to better maternal and newborn health.
PipeRench: A virtualized programmable datapath in 0.18 micron technology

PipeRench is a programmable datapath that can be used to accelerate numerically intensive applications. The unique aspect of PipeRench is its ability to virtualize hardware through self-managed dynamic reconfiguration. This capability provides application portability and scalability without redesign or recompilation. This paper describes the implementation of PipeRench in a 0.18 micron process. The implementation has 3.65 million transistors and runs at 120 MHz. Performance is competitive with high-end commercial DSP architectures and more than five times faster than a commercial microprocessor. Executing at 33 MHz, an FIR filter without virtualization consumes 519 mW. When virtualization is required, the implementation consumes approximately 675 mW.
Sorting of EGF and Transferrin at the plasma membrane and by cargo-specific signaling to EEA1-enriched endosomes

The biological function of receptors is determined by their appropriate trafficking through the endosomal pathway. Following internalization, the transferrin (Tf) receptor quantitatively recycles to the plasma membrane, whereas the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor undergoes degradation. To determine how Tf and EGF engage these two different pathways we imaged their binding and early endocytic pathway in live cells using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy (TIRF-M). We find that EGF and Tf bind to distinct plasma membrane regions and are incorporated into different endocytic vesicles. After internalization, both EGF-enriched and Tf-enriched vesicles interact with endosomes containing early endosome antigen 1 (EEA1). EGF is incorporated and retained in these endosomes, while Tf-containing vesicles rapidly dissociate and move to a juxtanuclear compartment. Endocytic vesicles carrying EGF recruit more Rab5 GTPase than those carrying Tf, which, by strengthening their association with EEA1-enriched endosomes, may provide a mechanism for the observed cargo-specific sorting. These results reveal pre-endocytic sorting of Tf and EGF, a specialized role for EEA1-enriched endosomes in EGF trafficking, and a potential mechanism for cargo-specified sorting of endocytic vesicles by these endosomes.
Abstract WMP106: Increased Carotid Stenting For Nonspecific Symptoms In The Post-crest Era

Background: Nonspecific symptoms such as dizziness and syncope may prompt evaluation of the carotid circulation and detection of carotid stenosis. The Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy Versus Stenting Trial (CREST) demonstrated equivalent outcomes from Endarterectomy (CEA) and Stenting (CAS) in asymptomatic stenosis. We reviewed the trends in selection and outcomes from revascularization procedures for nonspecific symptoms in the light of CREST results. Methods: We performed a retrospective review of carotid revascularization procedures at a large volume urban medical center, between June 2009 (8 months pre-CREST) and April 2012. Demographics, surgical risk features and in-hospital outcomes of stroke/death/MI were reviewed. Patients were labeled as having nonspecific symptoms when they presented with posterior circulation symptoms or with non-focal symptoms i.e. Dizziness, syncope, etc. To evaluate the effect of CREST, we compared pre CREST (up to Jan 2010) and post CREST cases (Feb 2010 to Apr 2012). Results: 701 procedures (36.1% CEA, 63.9% CAS) were performed and mean age was 70 ±10 years. Non-specific indications accounted for 13% of CEA and 15.9% of CAS. Procedures for nonspecific symptoms did not increase post CREST in the CEA group (12.1% VS 13.3%). They increased significantly in the CAS group (6.3% pre and 18.5% post CREST). Among CAS, the rise was insignificant in the first 8 months (Feb 2010-Sep 2010) post CREST: 7.5%. This rose to 21.2% from Oct 2010 to May 2011: p=0.0017; and 23.8% from June 2011 to April 2012: p=0.0004. The rise in CAS was noted among elderly patients (>70 years), a group in which CREST demonstrated higher complication rates. The rise was noted among both men and women and they did not have surgical high-risk criteria. In-hospital complication rates of stroke/death/MI were 5.6% in this group. Most complications occurred in patients >70 years. Conclusion: CAS for nonspecific symptoms has increased following CREST, and the complication rates associated with these procedures is significant. This raises concern about the value of this procedure. Primary care physicians evaluating non-specific symptoms should obtain neurological expertise prior to revascularization procedures, to allow appropriate patient selection.
Computer Administered Testing in a Classroom Setting

AbstractThis study utilized an empirical model to assess the equivalence of computerized testing methods compared to the traditional pencil-and-paper mode of testing. The controversy surrounding computerized testing is noted and the literature to date is surveyed. Using a regression design, student performance on the two administered modes was compared controlling for ability and past microcomputer experience. Three item formats (multiple-choice, true-false, and matching) were analyzed. While the computer mode produced comparable overall results to the pencil-and-paper mode, the matching question format showed a significant difference. Discussion emphasizes the implications of this study as support for the use of computerized testing in the classroom setting.
Recent Changes in Washington Alley Slums

linquency rates; and (4) that areas characterized by high rates of tenancy are also areas of high rates of delinquency. In short, if high population density, low economic value of houses, physical deterioration and lack of necessary equipment, and high rate of tenancy can be evaluated as indicators of poor housing, the findings of this investigation present objective confirmation of the general principle that poor housing tends to be associated with high rates of delinquency, and vice versa.
Simulating nanoscale functional motions of biomolecules

We are describing efficient dynamics simulation methods for the characterization of functional motion of biomolecules on the nanometer scale. Multivariate statistical methods are widely used to extract and enhance functional collective motions from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A dimension reduction in MD is often realized through a principal component analysis (PCA) or a singular value decomposition (SVD) of the trajectory. Normal mode analysis (NMA) is a related collective coordinate space approach, which involves the decomposition of the motion into vibration modes based on an elastic model. Using the myosin motor protein as an example we describe a hybrid technique termed amplified collective motions (ACM) that enhances sampling of conformational space through a combination of normal modes with atomic level MD. Unfortunately, the forced orthogonalization of modes in collective coordinate space leads to complex dependencies that are not necessarily consistent with the symmetry of biological macromolecules and assemblies. In many biological molecules, such as HIV-1 protease, reflective or rotational symmetries are present that are broken using standard orthogonal basis functions. We present a method to compute the plane of reflective symmetry or the axis of rotational symmetry from the trajectory frames. Moreover, we develop an SVD that best approximates the given trajectory while respecting the symmetry. Finally, we describe a local feature analysis (LFA) to construct a topographic representation of functional dynamics in terms of local features. The LFA representations are low-dimensional, and provide a reduced basis set for collective motions, but unlike global collective modes they are sparsely distributed and spatially localized. This yields a more reliable assignment of essential dynamics modes across different MD time windows.
Effect of disease stage on clinical outcome after syngeneic bone marrow transplantation for relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.

Relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (R-EAE) is an immune-mediated demyelinating central nervous system (CNS) disease. Myeloablation and syngeneic bone marrow transplantation (SBMT), when performed at the peak of acute disease (day 14), prevented glial scarring and ameliorated the disease severity. In contrast, when syngeneic BMT was performed late in chronic phase (day 78), significant glial scarring remained and the clinical severity did not differ significantly from that of the controls. After SBMT in either the acute or chronic phase of disease, the posttransplant immune system remained responsive to myelin epitopes as determined by in vitro proliferation and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production. However, in mice undergoing SBMT, in vivo delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) responses were significantly decreased while IFN-γ RNA levels and inflammatory infiltrates within the CNS were slightly improved. We conclude that failure of SBMT to improve the clinical disease when performed in chronic phase may be due to preexisting glial scarring. We also conclude that in the absence of glial scarring and irreversible neuronal injury, in vivo DTH responses and histology are better predictors of clinical improvement than in vitro proliferation or IFN-γ cytokine production.
The humoral immune systems of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) and the European lobster (Homarus gammarus)

Abstract American and European lobsters are both high profile and high value animal species that provide significant economic value in the areas where they are landed. As such, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to the health of the animals and their populations, and how these animals can defend against pathogen impacts, especially the components of their immune systems. It is somewhat surprising to see that there is a considerable amount of published information on the immune systems other commercially important crustacean species such as warm-water marine and freshwater shrimp and crayfish, yet the is relatively little published material on the American and European lobsters. This review highlights the key areas of crustacean immune function and the published evidence as it relates to these important species. This includes; pattern recognition receptors, variable immune molecules, clotting factors, prophenoloxidase, hemocytes and anti-bacterial/anti-micorbial components.
Risk, Authority and Trust

Peggy is committed to taking risks for her learners in the same way Mr. Santon took a risk that his learners might not come through each time he challenged them to move to the next distant level of development. He did all of this while doing everything he could to express his confidence and trust in them.
Finite-state machine embeddings for non-concurrent error detection and identification

In digital sequential systems that operate over several time steps, a state-transition fault at any time step during the operation of the system corrupts its state in a way that can render its future functionality useless. In this paper, we develop a methodology for systematically constructing redundant finite-state machines so that an external checker can capture transient state-transition faults via checks that are performed in a non-concurrent manner (e.g., periodically). More specifically, the proposed approach allows the checker to detect and identify errors due to past state-transition faults based on an analysis of the current, possibly corrupted FSM state. As a result, the checker in such designs can operate at a slower speed than the rest of the system which relaxes the stringent requirements on its reliability.
Field validation study of a time and temperature indexed autoregressive with exogenous (ARX) model for building thermal load prediction

Abstract Building load prediction algorithms are becoming an essential component of building energy technologies as intelligent building technologies are rapidly evolving and require accurate load predictions to make real-time operational decisions. This paper presents a field validation study of an autoregressive with exogenous (ARX) model, indexed with respect to time and temperature, and used for hourly building thermal load prediction with an aim for integration with real time predictive control strategies. Indexing of the ARX model implies that different sets of coefficients are used in the predictive equation depending on different time intervals and temperature ranges. Although many regressive prediction models have been proposed, no field validation has been reported in the literature, which is an essential step before implementation in actual practice. The validation study was carried out using field data from three buildings located in the main campus of Mississippi State University. The proposed model was able to predict hourly thermal load accurately and within the uncertainty bounds of the measured thermal load most of the time. Results also demonstrated that proper indexing of the model allowed it to capture different cooling and heating load profiles and abrupt changes in the load pattern.
Synergistic Effects of Botulinum Toxin and Physical Therapy in Primary Cervical Dystonia (P1.032)

OBJECTIVE To compare standard botulinum toxin (BoNT) versus BoNT combined with physical therapy (PT) in primary cervical dystonia (PCD). BACKGROUND PCD is frequently a source of disability, depression and decreased quality of life. BoNT is the gold standard treatment for PCD however the response can be suboptimal in many patients. BoNT efficacy wears off between doses even in patients who have good response. DESIGN/METHODS PCD subjects with suboptimal benefits on BoNT (10 weeks or lesser) were enrolled. These PCD subjects either received PT and BoNT (PT group) or BoNT alone. Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Scale (TWSTRS) scores, SF-36 quality of life scores and visual analog scale (VAS) scores for pain were obtained at baseline, at peak BoNT benefits (approximately 3-6 weeks), and 12 weeks post BoNT. A PT program was initiated at baseline visit. A supervised session followed by a home exercise program was performed for six weeks. Subjects were contacted weekly to ensure compliance with the exercise program. RESULTS Fifteen subjects (7 male, 8 female, mean age 64.5 ± 5.4 years, mean disease duration 14.4 ± 10.9 years) were recruited. At baseline, the mean TWSTRS disability score was 9.9 ± 5.3 (PT group) and 5.8 ± 3.3 (non-PT group), TWSTRS pain score was 8.9 ± 5.8 (PT group) and 6 ± 5.2 (non-PT group) and VAS pain score was 3.6 ± 3.1 (PT group) and 1.19 ± 1.31 (non-PT group). Repeated Measures ANOVA was used. The change in TWSTRS pain score and VAS pain score at 6 weeks peak BoNT benefits in PT group was significantly greater than non-PT group. Improvement in SF-36 physical component scale approached significance in the PT group. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results suggest BoNT combined with PT improve pain and quality of life greater than BoNT alone. A larger clinical trial is needed for further validation. Disclosure: Dr. Hu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rundle-Gonzalez has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kulkarni has nothing to disclose. Dr. Almeida has nothing to disclose. Dr. Okun has received royalty payments from Demos, Humana, Amazon, Smashwords, Books4Patients, and Cambridge. Dr. Okun has received research support from the Michael J. Fox Foundation, the National Parkinson Foundation, the Parkinson Alliance, the Smallwo Dr. Wagle-Shukla has nothing to disclose.
Novel mechanism of metabolic co-regulation coordinates the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites in Pseudomonas protegens

Metabolic co-regulation between biosynthetic pathways for secondary metabolites is common in microbes and can play an important role in microbial interactions. Here, we describe a novel mechanism of metabolic co-regulation in which an intermediate in one pathway is converted into signals that activate a second pathway. Our study focused on the co-regulation of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) and pyoluteorin, two antimicrobial metabolites produced by the soil bacterium Pseudomonas protegens. We show that an intermediate in DAPG biosynthesis, phloroglucinol, is transformed by a halogenase encoded in the pyoluteorin gene cluster into mono- and di-chlorinated phloroglucinols. The chlorinated phloroglucinols function as intra- and inter-cellular signals that induce the expression of pyoluteorin biosynthetic genes, pyoluteorin production, and pyoluteorin-mediated inhibition of the plant-pathogenic bacterium Erwinia amylovora. This metabolic co-regulation provides a strategy for P. protegens to optimize the deployment of secondary metabolites with distinct roles in cooperative and competitive microbial interactions.
Building innovation capability: The role of top management innovativeness and relative-exploration orientation

Abstract Firms strive to develop innovation capabilities that help them achieve competitive advantage in the marketplace. This paper shows that managers can contribute to firms' innovation capabilities by involving themselves directly. Based on a unique multi-source (shareholder letters, COMPUSTAT, and World Bank Database) dataset covering 335 firms over nine years, empirical analysis reveals that top managers' innovativeness makes them more likely to adopt exploration orientation over exploitation orientation in innovation. This relative-exploration orientation is a key mediator that can transform top managers' innovativeness into better financial performance, and the effectiveness of this mediating role is contingent on a firm's resources and the industry environment.
Total Hip Arthroplasty Procedure Frequencies in Patients with Osteonecrosis versus Osteoarthritis

Atraumatic osteonecrosis (ON) of the hip is a debilitating disease. Multiple surgical treatment options are available ranging from joint-preserving procedures to total hip arthroplasty (THA), which is the most commonly performed treatment not only for ON but also for osteoarthritis (OA). Multiple studies have described the rates and trends of THA for OA and ON; however, none have directly compared the two. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to (1) determine the frequency and trends of joint replacement procedures; (2) compare these findings between the ON and OA populations; and (3) assess trends for revision total hip arthroplasty (rTHA). The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) database was evaluated for this study. All patients in this database obtained between 2008 and 2014 who had a diagnosis of hip ON or OA were identified using International Classification of Disease, 9th revision codes for hip ON and OA. This yielded 68,434 patients, including 3,816 patients with ON (mean age: 55 years, range: 18–90 years) and 64,618 patients with OA (mean age: 65 years, range: 18–90). The Cochran-Armitage test for trends was used to assess the differences in THA and rTHA rates over the study time period for each cohort. To compare whether these rates were different between ON and OA patients, we performed a Z-test between the groups for each year. The annual number of primary THA performed increased for both ON and OA between 2008 and 2014 (from 62 to 989 and from 1,011 to 19,004, respectively). The rate of primary THA significantly increased from 69 to 88% in ON patients. The rate of THAs for ON, out of all THAs performed for both ON and OA, decreased from 5.8% in 2008 to 4.9% in 2014. . The rate of rTHAs performed for both ON and OA decreased during this time (1.1–0.4% for ON and 0.4–0.2% for OA). ON patients had a significantly higher rate of rTHA only in 2011 and a higher rate of overall revisions. The rate of THA is increasing for both ON and OA, but the slope of the increase is higher for ON. This may indicate that orthopaedic surgeons are more confident in performing THA as newer devices and designs are being developed, allowing for better survivorship and outcomes. Additionally, although the overall rate of revision was higher in the ON cohort, at most annual time points, there was no significant difference. Further research is needed to determine why such trends exist.
Genetic Risk Factors for Development of Atopic Dermatitis: a Systematic Review

The purpose of this study is to systematically review studies conducted between April 2015 and April 2017 for the genetic risks for the development of atopic dermatitis (AD). We sought to identify (1) specific loci and genes associated with AD, (2) the proportion of studies for each gene, and (3) genetic risks that need further investigation. Studies have found that genetic predisposition and environmental triggers are involved in the pathogenesis of AD. Thirty-four loci and 46 genes have been identified as genetic risk factors, of which filaggrin gene null mutations and genes in the type 2 T-helper lymphocyte (Th2) signaling pathway have been the most extensively studied. Our systematic review found that in the last 2 years, 46 loci and 53 genes have been studied in the development of AD. Genes involved in epidermal barrier, immune regulation, and intracellular functions were identified. We suggest that future research should investigate the intricate interaction of these genes as well as the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the development of AD.
Development of a Longitudinal Quality Improvement Curriculum Combining Workshops, Learning Modules, and Self-Defined Projects for Residents

With the mounting emphasis in the US healthcare system on patient safety and the quality of care provided, quality improvement (QI) education has become essential for medical trainees. QI education models vary among residency programs, yet there is currently no “gold standard.” Described here is a QI curriculum that is longitudinal, extending throughout residency, with repetitive yearly cycles of workshops, learning modules, and self-defined QI projects. Residents work in teams with a faculty mentor to complete yearly QI projects, which produces both faculty and residents who have practical knowledge of how to identify and solve system-level problems.
HYPOCITRATURIA CONTRIBUTING TO NEPHROLITHIASIS IN A PATIENT WITH CYP24A1 GENE MUTATION

Objective: There have been several case reports of hypercalcemia due to mutation in CYP24A1, which encodes an enzyme that controls the catabolism of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D to inactive forms. These patients develop nephrolithiasis, nephrocalcinosis, and eventually renal insufficiency. We describe a patient with hypercalcemia and nephrolithiasis due to CYP24A1 mutation with other co-existing factors for renal stone formation. Methods: A literature search was conducted using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases for CYP24A1 mutation and hypercalcemia. Publications were selected based the quality of the data and clinical relevance. Results: CYP24A1 mutation may lead to hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and renal stone formation; however, other risk factors for renal stone formation such as urinary citrate, sodium, oxalate, and uric acid levels need to be evaluated. Conclusions: This case highlights the need to evaluate for other renal stone risk factors in patients with CYP24A1 mutation.
Middle School Students' and Mathematicians' Judgments of Mathematical Typicality

K-12 students often rely on testing examples to explore and determine the truth of mathematical conjectures. However, little is known about how K-12 students choose examples and what elements are important when considering example choice. In other domains, experts give explicit consideration to the typicality of examples – how representative a given item is of a general class. In a pilot study, we interviewed 20 middle school students who classified examples as typical or unusual and justified their classification. We then gave middle school students and mathematicians a survey where they rated the typicality of mathematical objects in two contexts – an everyday context (commonness in everyday life) and a mathematical context (how likely conjectures that hold for the object are to hold for other objects). Mathematicians had distinct notions of everyday and mathematical typicality – they recognized that the objects often seen in everyday life can have mathematical properties that can limit inductive generalization. Middle school students largely did not differentiate between everyday and mathematical typicality – they did not view special mathematical properties as limiting generalization, and rated items similarly regardless of context. These results suggest directions for learning mathematical argumentation and represent an important step towards understanding the nature of typicality in math.
Chapter 65 – Skeletal Muscle Regeneration

One of the most dynamic properties of adult skeletal muscle, distinct from most tissues in the human body, is the ability of this organ system to regenerate in response to acute or chronic injury. Central to the regulation of this dynamic process are resident stem cells called satellite cells that when activated by injury factors expand and recapitulate a differentiation program similar to what occurs in embryonic skeletal muscle development to form new myofibers and maintain muscle architectural and functional integrity. This chapter will discuss the principles that underlie skeletal muscle regeneration, focusing on satellite cells and the signaling pathways that orchestrate the regulation of muscle repair, as well as other progenitor cell populations that contribute to the fidelity of this cellular process.
Thoracic disc herniation presenting with chronic nausea and abdominal pain. A case report.

The incidence of symptomatic thoracic disc herniation has been reported to be one per million per year1. Most patients present with either pain in the chest wall, usually in the distribution of a thoracic nerve root dermatome, or thoracic myelopathy involving the lower extremities. However, on rare occasions, other symptoms that might be suggestive of a shoulder, cardiothoracic, abdominal, or pelvic abnormality may be the presenting complaints1-5. Such symptoms may spur an extensive workup for other disease processes before a patient is referred to a spine specialist, often as much as a year after the onset of symptoms. The serious consequences of a late or missed diagnosis necessitate that a symptomatic thoracic disc herniation, particularly one accompanied by neurological compromise, be addressed as soon as possible; therefore, recognition of atypical presentations is important. We report the case of a forty-one-year-old woman with an eight-month history of nausea and abdominal pain. Magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic spine showed a large central disc herniation at the T9-T10 level. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with a thoracic disc herniation who presented with chronic nausea and abdominal pain. The patient was informed that information concerning this case would be submitted for publication. Aforty-one-year-old woman presented with an eight-month history of nausea and abdominal pain. The medical history was remarkable for a herniated cervical disc at the C5-C6 level, which had been successfully treated nonoperatively. Previous surgical procedures included an appendectomy, excision of a uterine fibroid, and a left oophorectomy. She denied any history of trauma, gastrointestinal disease, or unresolved pelvic disease. She smoked one pack of cigarettes per day and denied alcohol consumption. She was employed …
Ecological Divergence with Gene Flow in a Thermophilic Cyanobacterium

How ecological diversity is maintained and distributed within populations is a longstanding question in microbial ecology. In the thermophilic cyanobacterium Synechococcus B', high observed levels of recombination are predicted to maintain ecological variation despite the simultaneous action of diverse selective pressures on different regions of the genome. To investigate ecological diversity in these bacteria, we directly isolated laboratory strains of Synechococcus B' from samples collected along the thermal gradients of two geothermal environments in Yellowstone National Park. Extensive recombination was evident for a multi-locus sequence data set, and, consequently, our sample did not exhibit the sequence clustering expected for distinct ecotypes evolving by periodic clonal selection. Evidence for local selective sweeps at specific loci suggests that sweeps may be common but that recombination is effective for maintaining diversity of unlinked genomic regions. Thermal performance for strain growth was positively associated with the temperature of the environment, indicating that Synechococcus B' populations consist of locally adapted ecological specialists that occupy specific thermal niches. Because this ecological differentiation is observed despite the absence of dispersal barriers among sites, we conclude that these bacteria may freely exchange much of the genome but that barriers to gene flow exist for loci under direct temperature selection.
Adolescent recanting of alcohol use: A longitudinal investigation of time-varying intra-individual predictors

Abstract Background Recanting – denying previous reports of lifetime substance use – occurs frequently in longitudinal investigations of adolescent substance use. While research has focused on how individual differences contribute to recanting, intra-individual factors associated with recanting over time remain understudied. Methods Adolescents (n = 1023) were assessed six times between 2009 – 2015. The sample included participants who reported ever-sipping alcohol in at least one assessment who maintained or recanted ever-sipping at the subsequent assessment (n = 543, 53.1% of full sample; 54.5% female; 84.9% white; 89.5% non-Hispanic). The majority (58.6%) of the sample recanted ever-sipping. We fit linear mixed models to investigate whether prospective changes in perceived peer drinking, peer approval, alcohol expectancies, and fear of reprisal predicted recanting. To explore whether mechanisms of recanting differed for delayed (i.e., two assessments or later) recanting, we refit the models in a subset of data excluding immediate (i.e., subsequent assessment) recanters. Results Prospective increases in perceived peer drinking (OR = 0.65), peer approval of drinking (OR = 0.82), and positive and negative alcohol expectancies (OR = 0.96; 0.98, respectively) predicted lower odds of recanting. Similar effects were observed among only delayed recanters. Conclusion Time-varying, intra-individual factors uniquely predicted recanting over time. Although most recanting occurs immediately following the initial report of ever-sipping, the observed effects were consistent between delayed recanters and the sample as a whole. Considering the systematic patterns evident in recanting, researchers should consider using computer-assisted or other research methods that minimize or verify recanting when it occurs while also informing missing data models.
Lessons Learned from High-Quality Residential Care Centers Around the World: A Visual Story

Evidence shows that orphaned and separated children (OSC) in resource-poor societies are more likely to experience maltreatment in the forms of neglect, discrimination, malnutrition, and emotional, physical, and sexual abuse than their non-orphaned peers. As the number of OSC rapidly increases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), it is important not to discount high-quality residential care centers (RCCs) as suitable options on the continuum of alternative care for OSC. This statement should not be taken to mean that residential care is always the best care option for OSC but that all alternative care options should be carefully evaluated to determine the best and most suitable fit for a child and their current needs. This essay uses photos as well as empirical data and non-empirical observations from several modern-day high-quality RCCs in LMICs to gather lessons and best practices on how to address child maltreatment. In summary, the high-quality RCCs in LMICs observed typically focused on holistically enriching and improving their centers at the child, organizational, and environmental levels to the greatest extent possible.
Reduced I/O Latency with Futures (Brief Announcement)

Task parallelism research has traditionally focused on optimizing computation-intensive applications. Due to the proliferation of commodity parallel processors, there has been recent interest in supporting interactive applications. Such interactive applications frequently rely on I/O operations that may incur significant latency. In order to increase performance, when a particular thread of control is blocked on an I/O operation, ideally we would like to hide this latency by using the processing resources to do other ready work instead of blocking or spin waiting on this I/O. There has been limited prior work on hiding this latency. As far as we are aware, only one prior work exists that provides a theoretical bound for interactive applications that use I/Os. In this work, we propose a method for hiding the latency of I/O operations by using the futures abstraction. We provide better execution time guarantees using this method than prior work. We also implemented the algorithm in a practically efficient prototype library that runs on top of the Cilk-F runtime, a runtime system that supports futures within the context of the Cilk Plus language, and performed experiments that demonstrate the efficiency of our implementation.
Personalized Drug Efficacy Monitoring Chip.

Cancer drug resistance mechanisms such as tumor heterogeneity and adaptable feedback loops are prevalent issues facing cancer therapy development. Drug resistance can be unique to a cancer type and...
PD-L1 engagement on T cells promotes self-tolerance and suppression of neighboring macrophages and effector T cells in cancer

Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) ligation delimits immunogenic responses in T cells. However, the consequences of programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) ligation in T cells are uncertain. We found that T cell expression of PD-L1 in cancer was regulated by tumor antigen and sterile inflammatory cues. PD-L1+ T cells exerted tumor-promoting tolerance via three distinct mechanisms: (1) binding of PD-L1 induced STAT3-dependent 'back-signaling' in CD4+ T cells, which prevented activation, reduced TH1-polarization and directed TH17-differentiation. PD-L1 signaling also induced an anergic T-bet-IFN-γ- phenotype in CD8+ T cells and was equally suppressive compared to PD-1 signaling; (2) PD-L1+ T cells restrained effector T cells via the canonical PD-L1-PD-1 axis and were sufficient to accelerate tumorigenesis, even in the absence of endogenous PD-L1; (3) PD-L1+ T cells engaged PD-1+ macrophages, inducing an alternative M2-like program, which had crippling effects on adaptive antitumor immunity. Collectively, we demonstrate that PD-L1+ T cells have diverse tolerogenic effects on tumor immunity.
Chapter 12 – The Geysers Dry-Steam Power Plants, Sonoma and Lake Counties, California, USA

The Geysers, the world’s largest geothermal power complex, has been the subject of numerous books, articles, technical papers, theses, conferences, and workshops. As with Larderello, there is a visitor’s center complete with displays and artifacts depicting the history and development of the field, and the general public can tour a part of the field and see a power plant. It is impossible, and unnecessary, to recount here all of the details of The Geysers’ history; we will summarize the highlights and refer the interested reader to more complete documents.
The powder keg: Lessons learned about clinical staff preparedness during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background Little is known about clinical staff's perspectives on preparedness for a pandemic. The purpose of this study was to obtain various clinical staff perspectives about preparedness to meet the demands for care during the early phase of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods We conducted a qualitative study using semistructured in-person interviews from March 2020 to April 2020 at a large tertiary academic urban hospital center. Interview guides were informed by the Resilience Framework for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and analyzed using a directed content analysis approach. Results Fifty-five clinical staff participated in the study. Three themes emerged from the data (1) Risk assessment and planning: “The powder keg,” (2) Innovative evolution of roles and responsibilities, and (3) Pandemic response and capacity. In the early phases of the pandemic, participants reported varying levels of risks for dying. However, most participants adapted to practice changes and became innovative in their roles over time. Hierarchies were less relevant during care delivery, whereas team collaboration became crucial in managing workforce capacity. Discussion As the pandemic progressed, staff preparedness evolved through a trial-and-error approach. Conclusions The pandemic is evolving as is clinical staff preparedness to meet the demands of a pandemic. In order to get a grasp on the crisis, clinical staff relied on each other and resorted to new workarounds.
PIN(2)-monopole Floer homology and the Rokhlin invariant

We show that the bar version of the index theory and can be interpreted as a three-dimensional counterpart of Atiyah’s classical results regarding spin structures on Riemann surfaces.
A review of some new results in the theory of linear elliptic equations with drift in $$L_{d}$$ L d

We present an overview of recent results of the author related to the Aleksandrov type estimates with power of summability of the free term $$d_{0}<d$$ , the Harnack inequality for $$u\in W^{2}_{d_{0},\mathrm{loc}\,}$$ , Holder continuity of L-harmonic and L-caloric functions. Under the assumption that the main coefficients are almost in VMO (and $$b\in L_{d}$$ ) we also present the results about solvability of the elliptic equations in $$W^{2}_{d_{0}}$$ in domains and in the whole space. A few relates issues are discussed as well.
Hospital Stay of Orthopedic Cases in a Tertiary Care Hospital: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Orthopedic conditions includes a range of condition varying from traumatic injuries, congenital anomalies, chronic back pain, arthritis, rheumatologic conditions, and other. Length of hospital stay is determined by a number of factors such as symptom severity, patient co morbidity and hospital availability. Our study aims to study the length of hospital stay of the patients admitted in a provincial hospital. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Seti Provincial Hospital in the month of January among 800 cases. The record of each orthopedic cases admitted in the hospital was retrospectively collected from the medical record section after receiving ethical approval from Institutional Review Committee of Seti Provincial Hospital. Whole sampling technique was used. Data were analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20. The descriptive statistical analysis was done. Results: The average length of hospital stay was 2.87 days with the maximum length of the stay of 10 days and the minimum stay of zero days (discharged on the same day). Forearm bone fracture was the main reason for admission in the hospital 325 (40.62%). Conclusions: Length of the hospital stay was found to shorter than the previous study done in similar settings.