cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mouse model of unstable atherosclerotic plaque

The study reported in this issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology by Rosenfeld et al1 is very important in experimental atherosclerosis for 2 reasons. First, the study shows that there is an available murine model that expresses many features of the human plaque that are very relevant to the pathogenesis of clinically significant disease. Second, the study shows that there is a site of the arterial tree other than the aortic root that (in the appropriate models) almost invariably develops a lesion that begins with the accumulation of foam cells and progresses to the advanced lesion of the sort shown in the study. Many recent studies of atherosclerosis report on results exclusively based on the aortic root, not a frequent site of clinically significant lesions in humans. The innominate artery is an alternate site for the study of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. There has been shown to be a high frequency of extensive lesions at this site in apolipoprotein E (apoE)–null mice by 24 to 28 weeks of age, even if these mice are maintained on a chow diet (Reardon et al, unpublished observations, 2000), and this could be shortened if the mice are fed a Western-type diet. This makes it a site worthy of study even for shorter-term experiments. Although the aortic root may be easy to study, its lesion responses are not invariably reflective of the situation elsewhere in the vascular tree. We note that the aortic root and the innominate artery respond differently to immune deficiency (see below). It has recently been shown that the aortic root responds differently to probucol than do more distal regions of the aorta.3 The lesions that Rosenfeld et al1 have described have many, though not all, of the signal features of the advanced human atherosclerotic plaque. They …
Addressing Risk Factors Associated With Women's Sexually Compulsive Behaviors Through Psycho-Education and Self-leadership Development

The author believes that one can teach women self-leadership strategies to successfully deal with risk factors that—if left unattended—increase women's likelihood of engaging in sexually compulsive behaviors. A literature review included studies published in Medline and PsychInfo databases with articles, textbooks, and textbook chapters. Experimental and correlational studies were included if sample size was greater than 20 per group and if samples were separated by gender. Case studies were included if they pertained to the treatment of sexually addicted women. The literature review yielded several risk factors: (1) Exposure to developmental stressors; (2) Unregulated negative affect; (3) Comorbid addictions; (4) Lack of relationship skills; and (5) Sex work. The author derived treatment strategies for at-risk women (i.e., psycho-education and the teaching of self-regulatory or so called self-leadership strategies) from current treatment practices of sexually compulsive women. Implications for treatment ...
Comparison of the Mechanisms of Heme Hydroxylation by Heme Oxygenases-1 and -2: Kinetic and Cryoreduction Studies.

The two isoforms of human heme oxygenase (HO1 and HO2) catalyze oxidative degradation of heme to biliverdin, Fe, and CO. Unlike HO1, HO2 contains two C-terminal heme regulatory motifs (HRMs) centered at Cys265 and Cys282 that act as redox switches and, in their reduced dithiolate state, bind heme (Fleischhacker et al., Biochemistry, 2015, 54, 2693–2708). Here, we describe cryoreduction/annealing and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopic experiments to study the structural features of the oxyheme moiety in HO2 and to elucidate the initial steps in heme degradation. We conclude that the same mechanism of heme hydroxylation to α-meso-hydroxyheme is employed by both isoforms and that the HRMs do not affect the physicochemical properties of the oxy-Fe(II) and HOO-Fe(III) states of HO2. However, the absorption spectrum of oxy-Fe(II)-HO2 is slightly blue-shifted relative to that of HO1. Furthermore, heme hydroxylation proceeds three times more slowly, and the oxy-Fe(II) state is 100-fold less stable in H...
Sebaceous carcinoma: Tumor progression through mutational inactivation of p53

Abstract Background Sebaceous carcinoma may masquerade for years as an inflammatory condition. In many cases, this may be because of the presence of longstanding intraepithelial disease (e.g., dysplasia or carcinoma in situ), which eventually progresses to invasive carcinoma recognized through tumefaction and a worsening clinical presentation. The mechanism for this tumor progression is unknown. In the Far East, human papilloma virus (HPV) has been suggested to play a role in the development of sebaceous carcinoma by inactivating tumor suppressor gene p53. Here, the authors explore the molecular basis of the progression of ocular sebaceous carcinoma. Methods Cases of sebaceous carcinoma seen at the University of Virginia, Department of Ophthalmology, during the period from 1989 to 1996 were analyzed for HPV infection by in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction. The expression of p53, p21 WAF-1 , Bcl-2, and epithelial membrane antigen was examined by immunohistochemistry. In one of the cases, frozen tumor was available, allowing exons 5 through 9 of the p53 gene to be sequenced. Results Seven cases were identified, all of which were from women. All were negative for HPV. In cases in which disease was restricted to dysplasia (carcinoma in situ), p53 but not p21 WAF-1 was negative. In contrast, cases that contained a component of invasive or metastatic carcinoma showed striking hyperexpression of nuclear p53 in all of the malignant cells. In one of these cases, a G:C → T:A transversion was found in the p53 gene. This mutation, characteristic of bulky carcinogens, substituted phenylalanine for cysteine 277, a residue that participates in hydrogen bonding to the p53 DNA binding consensus sequence. Conclusions Mutational inactivation of p53 may be involved in the progression of sebaceous carcinoma.
Preclinical Evaluations of Cardiac Sympathetic Innervation Radiotracers

Preclinical evaluations of radiotracers designed for imaging cardiac sympathetic innervation have played a key role in the development of this branch of nuclear cardiology. In this chapter, many of the experimental approaches used to characterize the neuronal uptake and retention mechanisms of sympathetic nerve radiotracers are reviewed, from in vitro assays to in vivo imaging studies in animal models. Data from these studies have been critically important in the development of the most optimal radiotracers for cardiac innervation imaging studies in human subjects. They have also provided invaluable insights into the underlying neuronal retention mechanisms of each radiotracer, which are essential to understanding observed changes in the myocardial retention and kinetics of the radiotracer in heart diseases.
Wonderful secrets of nature. Natural knowledge and religious piety in Reformation Germany.

Abstract Sixteenth‐century Germany witnessed a tremendous flourishing of vernacular literature. An unprecedented number and variety of texts were produced for new groups of readers. This essay analyzes one underexplored genre of this vernacular literature: texts on the natural world. Numerous books on animals, plants, minerals, and natural marvels rolled off the German presses in this period, indicating a widespread curiosity about the natural world. These texts give valuable insight into the views of nature available to a broad lay audience, literate in German but not necessarily in Latin. They reveal a pervasive sense of nature as divinely created and a deep conviction that contemplation of the natural world would lead to greater piety. The divine and the mundane were thoroughly intertwined in vernacular natural histories. While other historians of science have seen the sixteenth century as a period of increasingly secular ways of thinking about nature, I argue for the persistence, and even the intensif...
High plasma cholesterol, but low triglycerides and plaque-free arteries, in Mexican free-tailed bats

Female mammals typically become hyperphagic from mid- to late pregnancy and during lactation. Mexican free-tailed bats, Tadarida brasiliensis mexicana, double their nightly food intake from late pregnancy to peak lactation and consume an insect diet that is exceptionally high in fat. During late pregnancy and throughout lactation, fasting plasma levels of cholesterol in this insectivorous bat are high (215 +/- 8 mg/dl) and are nearly 10-fold higher than in three species of Old World frugivorous bats. Fasting triglycerides were unexpectedly low in T. brasiliensis (25 +/- 2 mg/dl), despite evidence of high fat intake during nightly feeding bouts (postprandial cholesterol and triglycerides, 268 +/- 18 and 122 +/- 20 mg/dl, respectively). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were extraordinarily high (124 +/- 5 mg/dl) and unaffected by feeding. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were correspondingly low (86 +/- 7 mg/dl). This unusual plasma lipid profile was not associated with coronary or aortic atherosclerosis, nor was there evidence of hyperglycemia or hyperinsulinemia. A high-fat diet and high levels of cholesterol in T. brasiliensis are not correlated with cardiovascular disease or (possibly) insulin resistance. Among several possible factors that might account for these observations, nightly bouts of powered flight (commuting and foraging for food) may contribute to elevated HDL cholesterol, which may protect this species from developing atherosclerosis.
Biology of the Geminate Leafhopper, Colladonus geminatus, in Oregon

When the biology of Colladonus geminatus (Van Duzee) was studied at The Dalles, Oregon in 1952–53, the life cycle from egg to adult was found to average 52 clays in the insectary and 65–75 days in the field. Leafhoppers overwintered as eggs in alfalfa foliage and completed 2 generations a year on alfalfa, the preferred host. Spring populations were produced almost exclusively from dry-land alfalfa and fall populations from irrigated alfalfa. Leafhoppers were most abundant on alfalfa in May and September and in orchards in late May or early June, and in November. In both locations, populations were much higher in the fall, and a marked decrease occurred as distance from cultivated regions increased. Leafhoppers moved from breeding hosts (mainly alfalfa) into orchards during the spring and fall. Males comprised more than 75% of the trapped population except in July and October, when females dominated by from 2:1 to 3:1. Heaviest flights of leafhoppers occurred when the temperature was above 50Â°F and wind movement was less than 3 mph. Dissemination was reduced when the wind velocity was greater and was completely suppressed at 12 mph. Populations decreased in geometrical proportion to height above ground, and heaviest flights were recorded at 6 feet above ground.
Low Activities of Aspartate and Alanine Aminotransferase: Their Significance in Alcoholic Liver Disease

Two widely used and well-established enzyme tests used to detect diseases of the liver, heart, skeletal muscle, brain, and kidney are elevations in the activity of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). We hypothesized that the frequency of low ALT would greatly exceed the frequency of low AST in a population with a high prevalence of alcoholic liver disease. During 1 year, the frequency of low AST and ALT activity (<10 U/L) was found to be 0.17% (27/16,067) and 4.1% (472/11,582), a 24-fold difference, in 26 and 261 individual patients, respectively. Patients with alcoholic liver disease and low ALT were 10 times the number of those with alcoholic liver disease and low AST, which may reflect the low hepatic and serum ALT activity seen in these patients, as well as the widespread distribution of AST in tissues.
Relationship between Occurrence of a Birthday and Psychiatric Hospitalization

Despite controversy and many negative findings (Campbell, 1982), research into the relationship between geophysical variables and behavior has continued to receive attention, including not only the impact of regional variations (Lester, 1987a), time of week, and lunar phases (Wagner & Almeida, 1987), but also month of birth (Lester, 1987b). While the latter has focused on the relationship with suicides, the more general relationship between birthday and psychopathology has received little attention. This study investigated whether the occurrence of a birthday is related to admission for psychiatric hospital treatment. A random date between 1985 and 1988 was chosen and beginning with admissions on this date, 200 consecutive records were reviewed to obtain patients' dates of birth and dates of admission. Number of days between birthday and hospitalization date was calculated, yielding 22 records with a birthday within five days (22%), 49 within 14 days (25%), and 57 within one month (28.5%) before or after admission (with respective expected probabilities of 3, 7, and 17%). All deviations of actual, from expected, findings were statistically significant @< .00003), utilizing z-scores (z = 7.48, z = 9.7, and z = 4.33, respectively) to obtain probability approximations via the normal, for the binomial, distribution. These findings indicate that the timing of the occurrence of a birthday is reIated to psychiatric hospitalization. It appears relevant to further investigate the nature of t h s relationship (i.e., explore stress, attention-getting, aging anxiety, or traumatic events) to implement preventive strategies, particularly for individuals who have been identified as at high risk.
Abstract 5398: In vivo development of pan-Pim kinase small molecule inhibitors

Pim-1,-2, and -3 are constitutively active serine-threonine kinases which are partially redundant and regulate multiple pathways important for tumor growth and survival. One or more of the human Pims are over-expressed in multiple hematological tumor types (e.g. multiple myeloma (MM), NHL and AML) and in some solid tumors (e.g. prostate and SCLC). Pim over-expression correlates with malignancy and poor prognosis in several indications. Our goal was to generate a pan Pim kinase inhibitor with acceptable physical chemical properties and in vivo anti-tumor efficacy. Here we present data on two ATP-competitive, orally bioavailable pan Pim inhibitors, Compound I and Compound II. These inhibitors have potent enzymatic and cellular activity, acceptable pharmacokinetic properties (PK) and robust in vivo efficacy. In a kinase enzyme assay Compound I inhibits Pim-1 and Pim-2 activity with 0.4 nM and 0.7 nM IC50s, respectively, while Compound II is even more potent with Pim-1 and Pim-2 IC50s of 0.1 nM/0.1 nM. In a cellular assay which measures inhibition of the Pim downstream substrate phospho-BAD (p-BAD), compounds I and II demonstrate IC50s of 56 and 16 nM, respectively. In an in vivo pharmacodynamic assay (PD) to demonstrate on-target Pim activity, compounds I and II significantly inhibited p-BAD in KMS-12-BM multiple myeloma tumors for 16 hours post dose. Treatment of KMS-12-BM tumor xenografts with Compound I demonstrated robust in vivo anti-tumor efficacy resulting in 23% tumor regression at 50 mg/kg BID and tumor stasis at 100 mg/kg QD. Compound II demonstrated improved PK properties leading to greater anti-tumor efficacy of 33% tumor regression at 100 mg/kg QD and tumor stasis at 50 mg/kg QD. Compound II showed efficacy in an orthotopic model of multiple myeloma and in models of AML and DLBCL. Combination treatment of Compound II and the standard of care Dexamethasone in the multiple myeloma RPMI-8226 xenograft model demonstrated enhanced tumor growth inhibition compared to either single agent activity. In summary, Compound I and II are potent and selective inhibitors of Pim kinases with excellent in vivo properties. Pim kinase inhibitors, either as monotherapy or in combination with dexamethasone, may be effective clinical strategies for certain cancer patients. Citation Format: Bethany Mattson, Christine. E. Sastri, Nadia Guerrero, Dean Hickman, Jie Chen, Tian Wu, Hui-Ling Wang, Andrew Taskar, Brian Lanman, Anthony B. Reed, Jude Canon, J. Russell Lipford, Karen Rex. In vivo development of pan-Pim kinase small molecule inhibitors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 5398. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-5398
Median-nerve entrapment following elbow dislocation in children. A report of two cases.

The median nerve may become trapped in the elbow during dislocation or relocations in children. Two similar cases are described in which the median nerve was found in an abnormal location upon exploration. In one patient the nerve actually passed through the middle of the joint where it had been trapped for ten months. In another patient, the nerve was trapped in the fracture line of the medial epicondyle. Both patients exhibited motor deficit and median nerve palsy was confirmed by electromyography. Early explorations4 is urged when signs of median nerve deficit persist following reduction of a dislocated elbow.
Aiding Victims, Abetting Violence: The Influence of Humanitarian Aid on Violence Patterns During Civil Conflict

Annual allocations of bilateral and multilateral humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected states total billions of dollars each year. Humanitarian assistance plays a vital role in sustaining vulnerable populations. However, inflows of such aid may also exacerbate violence by both threatening insurgents and creating incentives for these groups to extend or deepen control over the areas in which aid is concentrated. Insurgent efforts to ameliorate threats and co-opt resources ultimately raise the risk of conflict between insurgent and counterinsurgent forces. We use recently constructed geo-located data on both aid commitments and conflict events in a sample of twenty sub-Saharan African countries during the post–Cold War era to evaluate the impact of aid on violence. Even after accounting for the non-random assignment of aid within conflict zones, we find that humanitarian aid increases the frequency of subsequent violent engagements between rebel and government forces in the areas in which aid is concentrated. Importantly, however, we find no evidence that other forms of foreign development aid exacerbate or prolong violence in the areas in which they are allocated.
Delaying ambulation mode transitions in a powered knee-ankle prosthesis

Powered knee and ankle prostheses have the potential to improve the mobility of individuals with a lower limb amputation. As the number of different ambulation modes the prosthesis can be configured for increases, so too does the challenge of how to best transition the prosthesis between these modes. Pattern recognition systems have been suggested as a means to provide seamless and natural transitions, although error rates need to be reduced for these systems to be clinical viable. Delaying mode transitions by a small window may be one way to reduce error rates and improve reliability. The goal of this study was to develop and test a system for powered lower limb prostheses that introduced a delay between mode transitions. Three transfemoral amputees used a knee-ankle prosthesis to stand, walk on level ground, ascend/descend a ramp, and ascend/descend stairs. On Day 1 mode transitions occurred at a gait event (e.g., heel contact), and on Day 2 mode transitions occurred 90 ms following a gait event. A mode-specific pattern recognition system was trained and tested on each day. The 90 ms transition delay did not negatively affect users' performance ambulating with the prosthesis. Offline classification error results showed that the 90 ms delay reduced overall classification errors from 1.30% [0.29%], mean [SD], for the non-delayed system to 0.42% [0.22%] for the delayed system. These results demonstrate that delaying mode transitions by a small window of time can reduce overall errors, which moves these systems one step closer to clinical viability.
Power and performance trade-offs for mobile computing systems

This paper presents a study of the impact on power and performance simultaneously for mobile computing systems by tuning different knobs for some of the key ingredients such as CPU and memory. Industry standard benchmarks are used to represent common usages such as MM07 office productivity and Blu-ray movie playback. Building more understanding of the dependency of power and performance on different component configurations allows the system designer to do better trade-offs and make informed decisions based on the intended usage. The scope of the presented study covers the impact of CPU frequency and memory configurations.
Arenophile-Mediated Dearomative Reduction

A dearomative reduction of simple arenes has been developed which employs a visible-light-mediated cycloaddition of arenes with an N-N-arenophile and in situ diimide reduction. Subsequent cycloreversion or fragmentation of the arenophile moiety affords 1,3-cyclohexadienes or 1,4-diaminocyclohex-2-enes, compounds that are not synthetically accessible using existing dearomatization reactions. Importantly, this strategy also provides numerous opportunities for further derivatization as well as site-selective functionalization of polynuclear arenes.
The lower actinopterygian fauna from the Lower Carboniferous Albert shale formation of New Brunswick, Canada – a review of previously described taxa and a description of a new genus and species

Abstract. The Lower Carboniferous Albert shale formation of New Brunswick, Canada, is well-known for the preservation of countless articulated lower actinopterygian palaeoniscoid fishes. This site is at the boundary between the Devonian and the Lower Carboniferous, making the lower actinopterygians preserved at this site important. The taxonomic history of previously described Albert shale formation actinopterygians is reviewed here. Many of the earliest described actinopterygian taxa from the Albert Formation are represented by poorly preserved type specimens and have the distinction of being moved from one paraphyletic genus to another paraphyletic genus. While these taxa are in need of major redescriptions, such work is premature until the large paraphyletic or polyphyletic genera they have been placed in, Palaeonicus[m], †Rhadinichthys, and †Elonichthys, are redescribed. But there is new diversity within the Albert shale formation. Here, a new lower actinopterygian species, †Lambeia pectinatus, is described from one well-preserved specimen. This new species is characterized by dorsal ridge scales with pectinated posterior margins, body scales inserted between adjacent dorsal ridge scales, body scales with pectinated posterior and ventral margins, the presence of a ventral rostro-premaxilla and a median rostral bone, a separate and distinct antorbital bone, and a single supraorbital bone. This newly described species is distinct from previously described fishes from the Albert Formation, and the morphology of this newly described species is more similar to later Carboniferous fishes rather than Devonian fishes. This suggests that morphological features commonly seen in Carboniferous fishes and rarely seen in Devonian fishes were present early in the Carboniferous.
The Impact of a Required Longitudinal Stress Management and Resilience Training Course for First-Year Medical Students.

Although psychological distress is common among medical students, little remains known about effective interventions. One promising individual-focused approach is mindfulness-based stress management interventions; however, studies to date have relied on volunteers. To determine whether a required longitudinal stress management and resilience course improves well-being among first-year medical students. A quasi-experimental study. Two cohorts of medical students who participated in a required stress management and resilience course and completed pre and post questionnaires. Validated instruments were used to examine the effects on burnout, quality of life (QOL), stress, resilience, happiness, and empathy. Paired analysis was conducted to explore changes from baseline. On paired analysis of individual students, mean mental QOL and happiness declined (mental QOL: −5.63 [P < 0.001] and −5.15 [P = 0.015] and happiness: −0.31 [P = 0.02] and −0.4 [P = 0.01], cohorts 1 and 2, respectively) over the course of the year. Similarly, stress scores increased by 4.22 (P < 0.0001) and 3.62 (P = 0.03) in cohorts 1 and 2, respectively. Cognitive and emotive empathy declined in both cohorts but was only statistically significant for cohort 1 (−1.64 and −2.07, P < 0.01). No statistically significant differences in burnout or resilience were seen. The required longitudinal mindfulness-based stress management course tested in first-year medical students did not lead to measurable improvements in medical student well-being or empathy. These findings contrast with those of studies using volunteer medical students or physicians, which suggested a reduction in burnout and stress using a similar curriculum. Medical schools should consider offering a variety of effective options so that students can select activities they want to engage in.
Routine prophylaxis is not necessary to prevent renal scarring in children with urinary tract infection

Commentary on: Hewitt IK, Pennesi M, Morello W, et al . Antibiotic prophylaxis for urinary tract infection-related renal scarring: a systematic review. Pediatrics 2017;139:e20163145. Renal scarring is a potentially serious long-term complication of acute pyelonephritis, and the risk increases significantly in children with high-grade vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI).1 For decades it has been a common practice to use antimicrobial prophylaxis or surgical correction to prevent recurrent UTI and renal scarring in children with VUR. Some recent studies have shown that antimicrobial prophylaxis significantly decreases the risk of UTI recurrence in children with VUR but does not significantly impact the risk of renal scarring when compared with placebo or no treatment.2 3 A review of the literature and a meta-analysis were done …
Lower Head Creep-Rupture Sensitivity Studies.

During hypothetical severe nuclear reactor accidents, structural materials in the reactor vessel can relocate downward and form debris regions above the lower head. In this paper a one-dimensional model is presented that considers melt progression in the debris as well as the thermal and mechanical response of the head. Only creep rupture of the lower head is considered; however, other modes of vessel failure can be considered with the methodology developed, and the model can easily be extended to higher dimensions. Numerical solutions are compared with an analytical model developed by T.G. Theofanous. The goal of the work is to identify the parameters that most affect the state of the debris at the time of lower head creep rupture. Results of sensitivity analyses presented indicate that melt relocation phenomena, the initial composition profile of the debris, and the pressure inside the vessel are all important. On the other hand, changing the porosity or the particle diameter produces less significant effects because several competing phenomena cancel each other.
Back to Basics: Red Blood Cell Distribution Width: Clinical Use beyond Hematology

1. Melissa Kaori Silva Litao, MD* 2. Deepak Kamat, MD, PhD† 1. *Department of Pediatrics, De La Salle Health Sciences Institute College of Medicine, Cavite, Philippines 2. †Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI * Abbreviations: BNP: : brain natriuretic peptide CBC: : complete blood cell COPD: : chronic obstructive pulmonary disease CRP: : C-reactive protein ESR: : erythrocyte sedimentation rate FMF: : familial Mediterranean fever MCV: : mean cell volume RBC: : red blood cell RDW: : red blood cell distribution width The complete blood cell (CBC) count is a widely available and commonly used inexpensive laboratory test used in clinical practice. Information contained therein includes the white blood cell count and differential count, red blood cell (RBC) count, RBC indices, hemoglobin level, hematocrit concentration, and platelet count. The RBC indices include the mean cell volume (MCV), mean cell hemoglobin, mean cell hemoglobin concentration, and RBC distribution width (RDW). (1) Traditionally, the clinical use of RDW has been limited to helping differentiate certain types of anemias (eg, β-thalassemia minor and iron deficiency anemia, which can both have decreased MCV and decreased mean cell hemoglobin but will differ in their RDW). (2) During the past decade, this quick and inexpensive test has been the subject of several studies attempting to evaluate its use as, among other things, an inflammatory marker, (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) a predictor of all-cause mortality, (9)(10) and a prognostic tool for morbidity and mortality associated with sepsis and cardiovascular disease. (4)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) This article focuses on discussing the RDW as a diagnostic and prognostic tool in various medical conditions. ### What Is the RDW? Each RBC is shaped as a biconcave disk with a depressed center, its volume ranging from 80 to 100 femtoliters (fL; 1 fL = 10-15 L) in adults (represented by the MCV in the CBC count). The RBC membrane is extremely flexible and, in certain conditions, is able to change shape …
Toward Developing a Descriptive Multicultural Phenomenology.

With record numbers of people migrating around the globe, cultural diversity has become a fact in most developed societies. In the United States, public school classrooms have experienced a rapid g...
Immunobiology of B Cells in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

B cells are an important component of mucosal immune responses in normal and diseased states. Whether B cells play a regulatory or pathogenic role in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been determined. The pathogenic role of antibodies has been suggested by the frequent presence of circulating antibodies to self- and microbial antigens in IBD. Antibodies could also regulate inflammation through Fc receptors of IgG. Although most studies performed in the experimental models of IBD suggest that B cells suppress mucosal inflammation either by secreting cytokines or by interacting with T cells, a pathogenic role of B cells has been raised in a model of ileitis. An inducible B-cell subset, termed Breg, develops in gut-associated lymphoid tissues under intestinal inflammatory conditions and causes attenuation of colitis through production of a regulatory cytokine IL-10 and by regulating T-cell expansion. An IL-12p70 producing B-cell subset capable of inhibiting colitis has also been identified. Future human studies including functional characterization of mucosal lymphocytes in normal and diseased states are needed to determine whether B cells regulate human intestinal inflammation as shown in the experimental models.
Structured circuit semantics for reactive plan execution systems

A variety of reactive plan execution systems have been developed in recent years, each attempting to solve the problem of taking reasonable courses of action fast enough in a dynamically changing world. Comparing these competing approaches, and collecting the best features of each, has been problematic because of the diverse representations and (sometimes implicit) control structures that they have employed. To rectify this problem, we have extended the circuit semantics notion of teleo-reactive programs into richer, yet compact semantics, called structured circuit semantics (SCS), that can be used to explicitly represent the control behavior of various reactive execution systems. By transforming existing systems into SCS, we can identify underlying control assumptions and begin to identify more rigorously the strengths and limitations of these systems. Moreover, SCS provides a basis for constructing new reactive execution systems, with more understandable semantics, that can be tailored to particular domain needs.
Local-search techniques for boolean combinations of pseudo-boolean constraints

Some search problems are most directly specified by boolean combinations of pseudo-boolean constraints. We study a logic PL(PB) whose formulas are of this form, and design local-search methods to compute models of PL(PB)- theories. In our approach we view a PL(PB)-theory T as a data structure -- a concise representation of a certain propositional CNF theory cl(T) logically equivalent to T. We show that parameters needed by local-search algorithms for CNF theories, such as walksat, can be estimated on the basis of T, without the need to compute cl(T) explicitly. Since cl(T) is often much larger than T, running search based on T promises performance gains. Our experimental results confirm this expectation.
Verification of Polyhedral Optimizations with Constant Loop Bounds in Finite State Space Computations

As processors gain in complexity and heterogeneity, compilers are asked to perform program transformations of ever-increasing complexity to effectively map an input program to the target hardware. It is critical to develop methods and tools to automatically assert the correctness of programs generated by such modern optimizing compilers.
Tax Reductions, Tax Changes, and the Marriage Penalty

Policymakers have directed much effort towards reducing or eliminating the so-called "marriage penalty" present in the U.S. individual income tax. However, because the marriage penalty is frequently misunderstood, many suggested remedies do little to reduce the penalty, and in some cases even exacerbate it. In this paper we use the recent income tax reduction proposal of the Bush Administration to highlight some of the challenges involved in reducing the marriage penalty. Using representative couples with varying distributions of income and family structure, we contrast the marriage penalties under current tax law (as of May 2001) with those under the tax structure in the Administration's proposal. Our calculations indicate that it is certainly feasible to reduce the marriage penalty. However, our calculations also indicate that achieving this goal can be a difficult task, with tax reductions and other tax changes sometimes having unintended and unanticipated effects. In particular, the Bush tax plan does not eliminate the marriage tax, and in some cases actually makes the marriage penalty even larger than it is at present. In short, reducing marriage penalties is not as simple as reducing income taxes.
The dynamics of capability search and creation

This commentary on Pisano’s (2017) article examines the distinction between general-purpose and application/market-specific knowledge in the context of capability creation. I argue that these types of knowledge are intertwined in capability search and creation, which has implications for capability development paths and for dynamic capabilities.
Oseltamivir for influenza.

Table: Number of admittances to hospital in trials whose analysis population was common to both reviews (intention-to-treat population) Meta-analyses of individual patient data hold the potential of off ering new insights into old data, but the Article by Joanna Dobson and colleagues fails to do this, presenting no new data on the potential treatment eff ect of oseltamivir in reducing the risk of influenza complications or admittance to hospital. Instead, the authors provide only new interpretations of already public data. We are concerned, however, that Dobson and colleagues’ interpretation of their results seems to be driven by a methodology not described in the methods section of their Article. Dobson and colleagues list nine data sources: four journal articles, three conference abstracts, secure webaccess to participant-level data, and data clarifications from the drug’s manufacturer. These sources do not contain enough detail to support the authors’ comment that “specific diagnostic tests were not necessary” for respiratory complications. For example, one conference abstract that is cited (for a trial of more than 1400 participants) is just a paragraph long. One coauthor of the meta-analysis suggested that an unpublished protocol exists for their study. We believe the authors should make that protocol public—or explain why it should not be made public—to allow readers to better understand the methods underlying their analysis. Such transparency seems Joanna Dobson and colleagues present an individual patient metaanalysis assessing the efficacy of oseltamivir for the treatment of infl uenza infection. The authors report that the data for their analysis were acquired from Roche Pharmaceuticals via a secure web portal. Interestingly, the data presented differ substantially from the data reported by the Cochrane Collaboration in their review of clinical study reports. Five trials had populations common to both analyses for comparison, and differences in admittance to hospital reported are presented in the table. As the presented data suggest, the Cochrane group identifi ed an excess of nine admittances to hospital, eight of which were in the oseltamivir cohort. These additional adverse events substantially affect risk ratio calculations for one of the authors’ main conclusions about the benefi t of admittance to hospital attributed to oseltamivir. The discrepancy between data supplied by Roche compared with the Cochrane Collaboration’s review of clinical study reports should be addressed.
The Effects of Forced Oscillation Frequency Estimation Error on the LS-ARMA+S Mode Meter

The least squares autoregressive moving average plus sinusoids (ls-arma+s) mode meter has been previously shown to successfully estimate power system electromechanical modes without bias in the presence of a forced oscillation (FO). In order to do this, it requires knowledge of the FO frequency, which is estimated as a byproduct of the periodogram-based FO detection scheme. Previous work has not fully addressed the effect that FO frequency estimation error has on the effectiveness of LS-ARMA+S. This letter demonstrates that if a FO is powerful enough, its frequency must be estimated with immense accuracy, something that the existing technique may not be able to achieve. Here it is demonstrated that easy-to-implement alternative frequency estimation algorithms can overcome this, resulting in the recommendation that for any future use of the LS-ARMA+S mode meter, the FO frequency be estimated with an algorithm separate from that which is used for FO detection.
Experimental and computational investigations of C–H activation of cyclohexane by ozone in liquid CO2

Facile cyclohexane oxidation by ozone in liquid CO2 was demonstrated in a Parr reactor equipped with in situ infrared probe. The dominant presence of CO2 in the vapor phase allows operation below the lower flammability limit. At 280 K, 6.9 MPa and a molar feed O3/cyclohexane ratio ≃0.5, the cyclohexane conversion was ∼12% during a 1 h batch run with cyclohexanone (K) + cyclohexanol (A) yield and K/A being ∼11% and ∼100, respectively. Small but measurable amounts of hydrogen peroxide were also formed. The absence of any detectable water in the product and the close match of cyclohexane conversion and product yield rule out significant cyclohexane combustion. The observed products are consistent with reaction pathways predicted by density functional theory (DFT) computations and involve the formation of a hydrotrioxide (HO3C6H11) intermediate. The DFT-computed energetics of the initial hydrogen-atom transfer reaction between O3 and cyclohexane to give the hydrotrioxide were validated by comparison with multi-reference complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) computations, which included n-electron valence state perturbation theory (NEVPT2) for dynamic correlation. Even though DFT cannot properly treat the multireference character of O3, the agreement between these methods was reasonable. Preliminary studies of isooctane ozonation demonstrate that ozone is capable of activating all carbons (with a preference for the primary carbon) producing a variety of oxygenated products (alcohols, ketones and acid) with negligible formation of combustion products. These results clearly demonstrate the ability of ozone in selectively oxidizing C–H bonds in alkanes.
IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY HEMOSIDEROSIS

Idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (IPH) is a rare disease of unknown etiology, characterized by recurrent episodes of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage and sideropenic anemia. IPH occurs most commonly in children. During an acute episode, a constellation of cough, dyspnea, and hemoptysis with alveolar infiltrates and worsening anemia should raise the suspicion for intrapulmonary bleeding. Sputum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and eventually lung tissue examination show numerous hemosiderin-laden macrophages in the alveoli, without evidence of capillaritis/vasculitis, granulomatous inflammation, deposition of immunoglobulins, or immune complexes. Glucocorticoids and other immunosuppressive drugs seem to be effective during IPH exacerbations and, possibly, also during the remission phase. The significant improvement in morbidity and mortality of IPH during the past several decades is probably due to the long-term use of immunosuppressive therapy.
Additional Income Generation from Cultivation of Summer Mungbean in Rice-Wheat System of Haryana

Background: Mungbean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek], also known as green gram is cultivated on area of 4.75 million ha in kharif and rabi/ spring seasons as monocrop or intercrop in India. It serves as a major source of dietary protein for the vast majority of vegetarian people in the country. Mungbean contributed 10.03 per cent of total pulses production (23.40 million tonnes) in the country with productivity level of 494 kg ha-1 in 2018-19. The pulses cultivation in Haryana is almost eliminated in kharif season owing to deviation of area towards cotton, cluster bean and pearlmillet because of low profitability. However, the new window opens for cultivation of mungbean in rice-wheat cropping system in summer season to generate additional farm income and to improve soil health. The area under summer mungbean in state was around 64 thousand ha with the production of 50 thousand tonnes and the average productivity of 780 kg/ha during 2017-18. Although rice-wheat system provides better farm returns, but it has imposed threat to soil health, availability and contamination of ground water, weed and biotic stress management. Methods: The data pertains to costs and returns from summer mungbean cultivation was gathered from 60 mungbean cultivators of Hisar, Kurukshetra and Panipat districts of Haryana having adequate irrigation water availability adopting personal interaction approach in 2018-19. Simple budgeting technique was employed to draw practical implications which ultimately help to take favourable policy decisions for enhancing acreage of summer mungbean. Result: The inquiry profound that mungbean cultivation in summer season particularly in rice-wheat was established as additional income generation farm enterprise. The net benefits accrued from short duration varieties of mungbean over variable cost was Rs. 31831 ha-1 with time span of 60-70 days by utilizing fallow land in summer season. The B-C ratio toiled considering expenses incurred on variable resources with value of 2.99 divulges economic viability of mungbean cultivation in the study area. It is imperative from results that cultivation of short duration cultivars of mungbean is viable option to enhance farm income, restoration of diminishing soil fertility owing to adoption of continuous rice-wheat rotation by inherent characteristics of converting atmospheric nitrogen. Distinctive efforts are essential to evolve mungbean cultivars suitable to prevailing cropping system in Haryana and assure market procurement. The exploration of mungbean cultivation will reduce dependency on import and improve net availability of pulses in India.
Three-Dimensional Repositioning of the Maxilla in Orthognathic Surgery Using Patient-Specific Titanium Plates: A Case Series

Purpose Successful orthognathic surgery is fundamentally based on accurately carrying out the intended surgical plan intraoperatively. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of bone-borne patient-specific maxillary cutting guides and 3-dimensional (3D)–printed plates in repositioning the maxilla during bimaxillary orthognathic surgery. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective case series consisting of patients who had undergone Le Fort I osteotomy with a patient-specific cutting guide and 3D-printed plate as well as a bilateral sagittal split osteotomy and had 6-week postoperative cone-beam computed tomography studies. The primary outcome variable was the difference between the position of the postoperative maxilla and the virtually planned maxilla measured at 10 landmarks in 3 dimensions. Other study variables included the preoperative diagnosis and planned surgical movement at each landmark. Descriptive statistics were tabulated, and bivariate analyses were performed. Results A total of 10 patients were included in this study. The mean age was 25.7 ± 8.1 years, and there were 5 female patients. The median planned surgical movement was 0.350 mm on the x-axis (right-left), 3.750 mm on the y-axis (anterior-posterior), and 1.704 mm on the z-axis (superior-inferior). The median absolute discrepancy between the postoperative position and the planned position on the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis was 0.638, 0.798, and 0.481 mm, respectively. There was no significant difference in the discrepancies between the x-axis and y-axis (P = .575), x-axis and z-axis (P = .332), and y-axis and z-axis (P = .114). Conclusions Using a patient-specific cutting guide and 3D-printed plate when performing Le Fort I osteotomy allows for accurate 3-dimensional positioning of the maxilla in accordance with the surgical plan.
CausER - a framework for inferring causal latent factors using multi-omic human datasets

High-dimensional cellular and molecular profiling of human samples highlights the need for analytical approaches that can integrate multi-omic datasets to generate predictive biomarkers that are in turn accompanied with strong causal inferences. Current methodologies are challenged by the high dimensionality of the combined datasets, the differences in distributions across the datasets, and their integration in a plausible causal framework, beyond merely correlative biomarkers. Here we present CausER, a first-in-class two-step interpretable machine learning approach for high-dimensional multi-omic datasets, that addresses these problems by identifying latent factors and their cause-effect relationships with the system-wide outcome/property of interest. The first step consists of Essential Regression (ER), a novel data-distribution-free regression model that integrates multi-omic datasets and identifies latent factors significantly associated with an outcome. The second involves probabilistic graphical modeling of the significant latent factors to infer plausible causal associations between them and mechanisms that affect outcomes, thereby significantly moving beyond predictive associative markers. By analyzing varied human immunological multi-omic datasets, we demonstrate that CausER significantly outperforms a wide range of state-of-the-art approaches. It generates novel cellular and molecular predictions in a range of contexts, including immunosenescence and sustained immune dysregulation associated with pre-term birth, that are corroborated by biological findings in model systems.
Turtle epistemology

In “Justification Without Awareness”, Michael Bergmann divides internalist epistemologies into those with a strong awareness requirement and those with a weak awareness requirement; he presents a dilemma, hoisting the “strongs” on one horn, and the “weaks” on the other. Here I reply on behalf of the strong-awareness view, presenting what I take to be a more satisfactory, and more fundamental, reply to Bergmann than I believe has been offered by his other critics, and in particular by Rogers and Matheson in their “Bergmann’s dilemma: exit strategies for internalists,” with which I am in partial agreement.