cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MRI-derived entorhinal volume is a good predictor of conversion from MCI to AD

With high-resolution quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, it is possible to examine alterations in brain anatomy in vivo and to identify regions affected in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, 27 patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) received a high-resolution MRI scan at baseline and were followed with yearly clinical evaluations. Ten of the 27 patients converted to AD during a 36-month period following the baseline clinical evaluation. Hippocampal and entorhinal cortex volumes derived from the baseline scan were compared to determine which of these two regions, known to be pathologically involved very early in the course of AD, could best differentiate MCI converters from non-converters. Although both entorhinal and hippocampal volumes were found to be independent predictors of the likelihood of conversion to AD, it was the right hemisphere entorhinal volume that best predicted conversion with a concordance rate of 93.5%.
A preliminary model of work during initial examination and treatment planning appointments

Objective This study's objective was to formally describe the work process for charting and treatment planning in general dental practice to inform the design of a new clinical computing environment.Methods Using a process called contextual inquiry, researchers observed 23 comprehensive examination and treatment planning sessions during 14 visits to 12 general US dental offices. For each visit, field notes were analysed and reformulated as formalised models. Subsequently, each model type was consolidated across all offices and visits. Interruptions to the workflow, called breakdowns, were identified.Results Clinical work during dental examination and treatment planning appointments is a highly collaborative activity involving dentists, hygienists and assistants. Personnel with multiple overlapping roles complete complex multi-step tasks supported by a large and varied collection of equipment, artifacts and technology. Most of the breakdowns were related to technology which interrupted the workflow, caused rework and increased the number of steps in work processes.Conclusion Current dental software could be significantly improved with regard to its support for communication and collaboration, workflow, information design and presentation, information content, and data entry.
PLEURAL EFFECTS OF INDIUM PHOSPHIDE IN B6C3F1 MICE: NONFIBROUS PARTICULATE INDUCED PLEURAL FIBROSIS

The mechanism(s) by which chronic inhalation of indium phosphide (InP) particles causes pleural fibrosis is not known. Few studies of InP pleural toxicity have been conducted because of the challenges in conducting particulate inhalation exposures, and because the pleural lesions developed slowly over the 2-year inhalation study. The authors investigated whether InP (1 mg/kg) administered by a single oropharyngeal aspiration would cause pleural fibrosis in male B6C3F1 mice. By 28 days after treatment, protein and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were significantly increased in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), but were unchanged in pleural lavage fluid (PLF). A pronounced pleural effusion characterized by significant increases in cytokines and a 3.7-fold increase in cell number was detected 28 days after InP treatment. Aspiration of soluble InCl3 caused a similar delayed pleural effusion; however, other soluble metals, insoluble particles, and fibers did not. The effusion caused by InP was accompanied by ar...
ACCESS: absolute color calibration experiment for standard stars

ACCESS is a recently approved rocket-borne payload with a ground-based calibration and performance monitoring program that is designed to transfer the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) absolute laboratory standards to the stars with a precision and calibration accuracy of 1% across the 0.35-1.7μm bandpass. This represents a significant improvement in the absolute and relative astrophysical flux calibration system, particularly at near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Establishing improved spectrophotometric standards is important for a broad range of missions and is relevant to many astrophysical problems. In particular, the precise calibration of the flux scale across the bandpass extending from 0.35-1.7 μm is fundamental to the precise determination of dark energy measurements based on SNeIa photometry.
Town in the Empire: Government, Politics, and Society in Seventeenth Century Popayán

Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Province and Town 2. Estates, Mines, and Commerce 3. Spaniards, Indians, and Negroes 4. Cabildo Government 5. Settler Affairs 6. Offices and Officeholders 7. The Governorship and the Treasury 8. Imperial Control 9. The Church and the Settlers Conclusion Appendices Notes Glossary Bibliography Index
Geochronology and stratigraphy of late Pleistocene lake cycles on the southern Bolivian Altiplano: Implications for causes of tropical climate change

Large paleolakes (∼33,000–60,000 km2) that once occupied the high-altitude Poopo, Coipasa, and Uyuni Basins in southern Bolivia (18–22°S) provide evidence of major changes in low-latitude moisture. In these now-dry or oligosaline basins, extensive natural exposure reveals evidence for two deep-lake and several minor-lake cycles over the past 120 k.y. Fifty-three new U-Th and 87 new 14C dates provide a chronologic framework for changes in lake level. Deposits from the "Ouki" deep-lake cycle are extensively exposed in the Poopo Basin, but no deep lakes are apparent in the record between 98 and 18.1 ka. The Ouki lake cycle was ∼80 m deep, and nineteen U-Th dates place this deep-lake cycle between 120 and 98 ka. Shallow lakes were present in the terminal Uyuni Basin between 95 and 80 ka (Salinas lake cycle), at ca. 46 (Inca Huasi lake cycle), and between 24 and 20.5 ka (Sajsi lake cycle). The Tauca deep-lake cycle occurred between 18.1 and 14.1 ka, resulting in the deepest (∼140 m) and largest lake in the basin over the past 120 ka. Multiple 14C and U-Th dates constrain the highest stand of Lake Tauca along a topographically conspicuous shoreline between 16.4 and 14.1 ka. A probable post-Tauca lake cycle (the Coipasa) produced a ≤55-m-deep lake that is tentatively dated between 13 and 11 ka. We suggest that paleolakes on the Bolivian Altiplano expanded in response to increased moisture in the Amazon and enhanced transport of that moisture onto the Altiplano by strengthened trade winds or southward displacement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Pole-to-equator sea-surface temperature (SST) and atmospheric gradients may have influenced the position of the ITCZ, affecting moisture balance over the Altiplano and at other locations in the Amazon Basin. Links between the position of the ITCZ and the ca. 23 ka precessional solar cycle have been postulated. March insolation over the Altiplano is a relatively good fit to our lake record, but no single season or latitude of solar cycling has yet to emerge as the primary driver of climate over the entire Amazon Basin. Temperature may influence Altiplano lake levels indirectly, as potentially dry glacial periods in the Amazon Basin are linked to dry conditions on the Altiplano. Intensification of the trade winds associated with La Nina–like conditions currently brings increased precipitation on the Altiplano, and deep-lake development during the Tauca lake cycle coincided with apparently intense and persistent La Nina–like conditions in the central Pacific. This suggests that SST gradients in the Pacific are also a major influence on deep-lake development on the Altiplano.
Pharmacodynamic population analysis in chronic renal failure using artificial neural networks: a comparative study

This work presents a pharmacodynamic population analysis in chronic renal failure patients using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). In pursuit of an effective and cost-efficient strategy for drug delivery in patients with renal failure, two different types of ANN are applied to perform drug dose-effect modeling and their performance compared. Applied in a clinical environment, such models will allow for prediction of patient response to the drug at the effect site and, subsequently, for adjusting the dosing regimen.
Motion tracking in video sequences using watershed regions and SURF features

Motion analysis plays a key role in the understanding of video imagery. The goal of our research is simultaneous camera motion modeling and object motion tracking in video sequences captured with public access pan-tilt-zoom web cameras. As a first step, we have developed and evaluated two techniques for camera motion modeling. Our first method uses SURF feature detection to detect camera and object motion. Our second method uses watershed region segmentation on sequential video frames, followed by template matching to detect the motion of watershed region over time and quantify camera motion.
Barriers to Business Education: Motivating Adult Learners

The study compares the responses of 646 adult learners in degree programs from six institutions in the U.S. and Canada to determine statistically significant differences in motivations and barriers to enroll by gender and ethnicity. The students surveyed were enrolled in nontraditional degree programs offered primarily within the context of night classes and accelerated program study in faith-based colleges and one public university, between 2004 - 2005.
Act1, an NF-κB-activating protein

Use of an NF-κB-dependent selectable marker facilitated the isolation of a cell line containing a cDNA encoding Act1, an NF-κB activator. Act1 associates with and activates IκB kinase (IKK), leading to the liberation of NF-κB from its complex with IκB. Many signaling pathways that liberate NF-κB also activate activating transcription factor (ATF) and activator protein 1 (AP-1) through Jun kinase (JNK). Act1 also activates JNK, suggesting that it might be part of a multifunctional complex involved in the activation of both NF-κB and JNK. Act1 fails to activate NF-κB in an IL-1-unresponsive mutant cell line in which all known signaling components are present, suggesting that it interacts with an unknown component in IL-1 signaling.
Computing Frequent Elements Using Gossip

We present algorithms for identifying frequently occurring elements in a large distributed data set using gossip. Our algorithms do not rely on any central control, or on an underlying network structure, such as a spanning tree. Instead, nodes repeatedly select a random partner and exchange data with the partner --- if this process continues for a (short) period of time, the desired results are computed, with probabilistic guarantees on the accuracy. Our algorithm for frequent elements is built by layering a novel small space "sketch" of data over a gossip-based data dissemination mechanism. We prove that the algorithm converges to the approximate frequent elements with high probability, and provide bounds on the time till convergence. To our knowledge, this is the first work on computing frequent elements using gossip.
Effects of First Language and Phonological Accessibility on Kanji Recognition

This study examines the transfer of learners' first language (L1) orthographic processing strategies to second language (L2) processing. Two groups of college students learning Japanese, a group of learners whose L1 writing system is phonographic and another group whose L1 employs a morphographic writing system, were tested on their ability to represent novel kanji characters in short-term memory. For students in the phonographic language background group, phonologically accessible characters (i.e., characters whose inner radical was a pronounceable katakana character) were easier to remember than phonologically inaccessible characters (i.e., characters whose inner radical was not pronounceable). In contrast, the absence of the pronounceable elements in the stimuli did not hinder the memory performance of the morphographic language background group. This interaction between L1 background and the phonological inaccessibility of stimuli is interpreted as showing that, due to their L1 experience, L2 learners from a morphographic language background use more flexible strategies for phonological decoding for new characters than learners from a phonographic language background.
PSpice for Analog Communications Engineering

In PSpice for Analog Communications Engineering we simulate the difficult principles of analog modulation using the superb free simulation software Cadence Orcad PSpice V10.5. While use is made of analog behavioral model parts (ABM), we use actual circuitry in most of the simulation circuits. For example, we use the 4-quadrant multiplier IC AD633 as a modulator and import real speech as the modulating source and look at the trapezoidal method for measuring the modulation index. Modulation is the process of relocating signals to different parts of the radio frequency spectrum by modifying certain parameters of the carrier in accordance with the modulating/information signals. In amplitude modulation, the modulating source changes the carrier amplitude, but in frequency modulation it causes the carrier frequency to change (and in phase modulation it’s the carrier phase). The digital equivalent of these modulation techniques are examined in PSpice for Digital communications Engine ring where we examine QAM, FSK, PSK and variants. We examine a range of oscillators and plot Nyquist diagrams showing themarginal stability of these systems. The superhetrodyne principle, the backbone of modern receivers is simulated using discrete components followed by simulating complete AM and FM receivers. In this exercise we examine the problems ofmatching individual stages and the use of double-tuned RF circuits to accommodate the large FM signal bandwidth.
The evolution of dehydrogenases and kinases

(1975). The Evolution of Dehydrogenases and Kinase. CRC Critical Reviews in Biochemistry: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 111-140.
The goals of care conversation: a tool to improve patient care in the nursing home at the end of life.

Patients residing in nursing homes may undergo burdensome transitions in care during the final months of life. They may get care they do not want and are unlikely to benefit from. Patients and families may not understand prognosis or the potential benefits of treatment. A “goals of care” conversation can be the critical first step in iden tifying a patient’s wishes and then developing a plan of care that honors those wishes. When the goal of care is to focus on comfort, hospice can be accessed. Hospice can help ensure that the patient’s final time is spent in comfort and that the family’s needs are attended to both before and after the patient dies.
Algorithms for Finding Diameter-constrained Graphs with Maximum Algebraic Connectivity

This article addresses a problem of synthesizing robust networks in the presence of constraints which limit the maximum number of links that connect any two nodes in the network. This problem arises in surveillance and monitoring applications where wireless sensor networks have to be deployed to collect and exchange time sensitive information among the vehicles. This network synthesis problem is formulated as a mixed-integer, semi-definite program, and an algorithm for finding the optimal solution is developed based on cutting plane and bisection methods. Computational results are presented to corroborate the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Comparison of self-rating and quantity-frequency measures of drinking.

In a comparison of self-rating and quantity-frequency measures of drinking, men tended to report themselves as lighter drinkers while women were more likely to classify their drinking patterns corr...
Mechanistic Analysis of Cocrystal Dissolution as a Function of pH and Micellar Solubilization.

The purpose of this work is to provide a mechanistic understanding of the dissolution behavior of cocrystals under the influence of ionization and micellar solubilization. Mass transport models were developed by applying Fick’s law of diffusion to dissolution with simultaneous chemical reactions in the hydrodynamic boundary layer adjacent to the dissolving cocrystal surface to predict the pH at the dissolving solid–liquid interface (i.e., interfacial pH) and the flux of cocrystals. To evaluate the predictive power of these models, dissolution studies of carbamazepine–saccharin (CBZ-SAC) and carbamazepine–salicylic acid (CBZ-SLC) cocrystals were performed at varied pH and surfactant concentrations above the critical stabilization concentration (CSC), where the cocrystals were thermodynamically stable. The findings in this work demonstrate that the pH dependent dissolution behavior of cocrystals with ionizable components is dependent on interfacial pH. This mass transport analysis demonstrates the importanc...
The impact of absorption coefficient on polarimetric determination of Berry phase based depth resolved characterization of biomedical scattering samples: a polarized Monte Carlo investigation

The modulation of the state of polarization of photons due to scatter generates associated geometric phase that is being investigated as a means for decreasing the degree of uncertainty in back-projecting the paths traversed by photons detected in backscattered geometry. In our previous work, we established that polarimetrically detected Berry phase correlates with the mean photon penetration depth of the backscattered photons collected for image formation. In this work, we report on the impact of state-of-linear-polarization (SOLP) filtering on both the magnitude and population distributions of image forming detected photons as a function of the absorption coefficient of the scattering sample. The results, based on Berry phase tracking implemented Polarized Monte Carlo Code, indicate that sample absorption plays a significant role in the mean depth attained by the image forming backscattered detected photons.
Role of Circulating Immune Cells in Stroke and Preconditioning-Induced Protection

Stroke activates an inflammatory response that results in the infiltration of peripheral immune cells into the ischemic area, contributing to exacerbation of tissue damage. However, evidence indicates that inflammatory cell infiltration can also promote neuroprotection through regulatory immune cells that mitigate injury. These immune regulatory cells may also be important mediators of neuroprotection associated with preconditioning, a phenomenon whereby small exposure to a potential harmful stimulus is able to induce protection against a subsequent ischemic event. The elucidation of mechanisms that allow these immune cells to confer neuroprotection is critical to developing new therapeutic strategies against acute stroke. In the present review, we discuss the dual role of peripheral immune cells in stroke-related brain injury and neuroprotection. Furthermore, we report new data from our laboratory that supports the important role of peripheral cells and their interaction with the brain endothelium for the establishment of the protective phenotype in preconditioning.
Using Best Practices in Online Discussion and Assessment to Enhance Collaborative Learning

The primary purpose of this exploratory study is to provide insight on how to use online discussions to foster collaborative learning and how to design assessment processes to evaluate the effectiveness of those discussions. This study focuses on the pedagogical role of discussion, effective practices in discussion, guidelines for creating discussions to enhance learning, and the use of rubrics for assessment and evaluation. This study also provides an overview of the pedagogy of online assessment with an emphasis on mastery learning instructional methods. Effective practices in the use of online assessment and guidelines for aligning learning objectives with the most appropriate assessment tool are also emphasized. This study concludes that using best practices in online discussion and assessment can enhance collaborative learning which results in students having a deeper understanding of course content because of more time on task, increased motivation, more engagement, improved teamwork and interpersonal skills, enhanced critical thinking abilities, improved self-esteem and increased ownership of their own learning.
What are the greenhouse gas observing system requirements for reducing fundamental biogeochemical process uncertainty? Amazon wetland CH 4 emissions as a case study

Abstract. Understanding the processes controlling terrestrial carbon fluxes is one of the grand challenges of climate science. Carbon cycle process controls are readily studied at local scales, but integrating local knowledge across extremely heterogeneous biota, landforms and climate space has proven to be extraordinarily challenging. Consequently, top-down or integral flux constraints at process-relevant scales are essential to reducing process uncertainty. Future satellite-based estimates of greenhouse gas fluxes – such as CO2 and CH4 – could potentially provide the constraints needed to resolve biogeochemical process controls at the required scales. Our analysis is focused on Amazon wetland CH4 emissions, which amount to a scientifically crucial and methodologically challenging case study. We quantitatively derive the observing system (OS) requirements for testing wetland CH4 emission hypotheses at a process-relevant scale. To distinguish between hypothesized hydrological and carbon controls on Amazon wetland CH4 production, a satellite mission will need to resolve monthly CH4 fluxes at a ∼ 333 km resolution and with a ≤ 10 mg CH4 m−2 day−1 flux precision. We simulate a range of low-earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary orbit (GEO) CH4 OS configurations to evaluate the ability of these approaches to meet the CH4 flux requirements. Conventional LEO and GEO missions resolve monthly ∼ 333 km Amazon wetland fluxes at a 17.0 and 2.7 mg CH4 m−2 day−1 median uncertainty level. Improving LEO CH4 measurement precision by 2 would only reduce the median CH4 flux uncertainty to 11.9 mg CH4 m−2 day−1. A GEO mission with targeted observing capability could resolve fluxes at a 2.0–2.4 mg CH4 m−2 day−1 median precision by increasing the observation density in high cloud-cover regions at the expense of other parts of the domain. We find that residual CH4 concentration biases can potentially reduce the ∼ 5-fold flux CH4 precision advantage of a GEO mission to a ∼ 2-fold advantage (relative to a LEO mission). For residual CH4 bias correlation lengths of 100 km, the GEO can nonetheless meet the ≤ 10 mg CH4 m−2 day−1 requirements for systematic biases ≤ 10 ppb. Our study demonstrates that process-driven greenhouse gas OS simulations can enhance conventional uncertainty reduction assessments by quantifying the OS characteristics required for testing biogeochemical process hypotheses.
Analysis of HA1 gene of influenza B virus isolated in Xicheng district,Beijing

Objective: To study the variation of hemagglutinin gene(HA1) from influenza B virus strains isolated in Xicheng district and evaluate the protective effect of the vaccine strains recommended by WHO during October 2009 to September 2011 in Beijing.Methods: Throat swabs were collected from influenza like illness(ILI) patients in two hospitals in Xicheng district from October,2009 to April,2011, and virus were isolated using MDCK cells.The assay of RT-PCR was used for influenza B virus sequencing.The method of phylogenetic analysis was used to align the nucleotide and amino acid sequences with DNAStar software.Results: The phylogenetic analysis showed that the prevalent strains belonged to Victoria lineage and displayed homology of 96.4%～99.1% and 98.2%～99.1% at the level of nucleotide and amino acid sequences respectively with the strain of B/Brisbane/60/2008.There was no deletion or insertion of nucleotide acid in both lineages. Three positions of amino acid were found change in the prevalent strains when comparing with B/Brisbane/60/2008.Conclusion: The HA1 altered weakly in Xicheng and the protective efect of the vaccines recommended by WHO were effective in Beijing.
Institutional investors and the cost of bank loans

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of institutional investors on the cost of bank loans using US bank loan data from 1995 to 2012. Design/methodology/approach – The cost of bank loans is analyzed with regard to loan spreads, collateral requirements, and the number of prepayment covenants. Findings – This paper finds that, first, holding institutional ownership constant, institutional control is positively related to the cost of bank loans, implying that strong institutional control intensifies conflicts between large shareholders and lenders. Second, institutional holdings are negatively related to the cost of bank loans. These results indicate that institutional monitoring reduces the agency problem between shareholders and managers. Originality/value – This paper suggests that the trade-off between institutional monitoring and institutional control jointly determines the effect of institutional investors on the cost of bank loans. Moreover, lenders should consider large sha...
Erratum to The role of postnatal neurogenesis in supporting remote memory and spatial metric processing [Hippocampus 24:31663-31671, (2014)]

HIPPOCAMPUS 25:1072 (2015) ERRATUM The Role of Postnatal Neurogenesis in Supporting Remote Memory and Spatial Metric Processing Raymond P. Kesner, Hui Xu, Taylor Sommer, Casey Wright, Vanessa R. Barrera, and Michael S. Fanselow Published in Hippocampus 24:31663-1671 (2014) DOI 10.1002/hipo.22346 The first and last names of the second author were reversed and the affiliation was published incorrectly. The corrected version of the name and affiliation is listed below, and has been corrected in the byline as it appears above. Hui Xu Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Utah. Salt Lake City, UT, 84112 We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. DOI 10.1002/hipo.22485 Published online 29 June (wileyonlinelibrary.com). C 2015 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC. V in Wiley Online Library
Where’s the Rigor When You Need It?

When it comes to causal conclusions, rigor matters. To this end we impose high standards for how studies from which we draw causal conclusions are conducted. For instance, we are widely urged to prefer randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or instrumental variable (IV) models to observational studies relying just on correlations, and we have explicit criteria for what counts as a good RCT or a good IV model. But we tend to be shockingly sloppy when it comes to making explicit just what the causal conclusions we draw mean, why the methods we employ are good for establishing conclusions with just that meaning, and what can defensibly be taken to follow from these claims. With respect to what can be inferred from the limited causal conclusions our studies support, we are far too prone to over reach, to ‘generalize’ that what holds in a study or handful of studies holds widely. But, I shall argue, we do not get arrant for general claims by generalizing. Rather it takes a great tangle of scientific work to support a general claim, including a great deal of conceptual development, theory and the confirmation of a variety of different kinds of effects that the general claim implies.
Time-varying narrowband channel estimation: Exploiting low-rank and sparsity via bilinear representation

In this paper, the estimation of a narrowband time-varying channel under the practical assumptions of finite block length and finite transmission bandwidth is investigated. It is shown that the signal, after passing through a time-varying narrowband channel reveals a particular parametric low-rank structure that can be represented as a bilinear form. To estimate the channel, we propose two structured methods. The first method exploits the low-rank bilinear structure of the channel via a non-convex strategy based on alternating direction optimization between delay and Doppler directions. Due to the non-convex nature of this approach, it is sensitive to local minima. Motivated by this issue, a novel convex approach based on the minimization of the atomic norm using measurements of signal at time domain is proposed. Numerical results show that the performance of proposed algorithm is independent of the leakage effect and the new methods can achieve moe than 5 dB improvement in average compared to l 1 -based sparse approximation method.
Richness vs. Reach: Using Technology To Overcome Economic Impediments to Reference Service.

Summary The ability of reference librarians to bring library services into new electronic arenas has been constrained by the inherent conflict within traditional approaches between the reach (number of users that can be served) and the richness (complexity) of its services. Increased use of information technology has brought with it increases in traffic at the reference desk without increases in staffing. Through the application of information technology used in electronic commerce and available on the Internet, libraries may be able to offer customizable electronic reference services to their users that increase both the richness of these services and the number of persons who benefit from them.
Markers of increased risk in primary mitral regurgitation.

Myxomatous degaeneration is the most common etiology of primary mitral regurgitation (MR) in the developed world (1). Severe MR can impose significant hemodynamic stress on the left ventricle (LV). However, LV can remain in a compensated asymptomatic stage for long time with preserved ejection fraction (EF). After long period of time, EF drops and overt heart failure ensues (2). Mitral surgery is the cornerstone in management of severe MR to halt this process. Nonetheless, LV sustains subclinical structural and microscopic damage early before traditional indications for MV surgery is met (3). Current class I indications for MV surgery are development of symptoms or abnormal ejection fraction (4), and both of these conditions are associated with non-optimal postoperative outcomes. There is a growing concern that EF does not reflect true LV systolic function and it merely reflects ventricular ejection which is a fraction derived from end diastolic volume (EDV) (5). In conditions with supra-physiological EDV and reduced afterload such as severe MR, EF is doomed to be normal even in suboptimal LV performance. LV global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS), which measures myocardial systolic deformation, has been proposed to be more reflective of true LV systolic function (6). As a result to the aforementioned factors, timing of surgery in asymptomatic severe MR patients with preserved EF remains a challenging and a controversial decision (7). With the new advances in cardiac surgery and improvements in perioperative care, postoperative mortality in patients undergoing MV surgery in the last few years is less than 0.1%, with hospital stay as short as 5 days and more than 97% success rate in achieving trivial MR with MV repair (8), which argues for earlier intervention in patients with severe MR before it is too late.
Age, molecular subtypes and local therapy decision-making

The relationship between age and breast cancer subtype is complex: both impact risk of locoregional recurrence (LRR) and survival. Young patients frequently present with aggressive tumors but the increased risk imparted by young age appears to differ among breast cancer subtypes. Dramatic improvements in local control among young women with breast cancer of all tumor subtypes have been observed, likely attributable to improved local therapy strategies, improvements in adjuvant therapies and implementation of subtype-specific targeted therapies. In the light of these improvements in local control, accumulating evidence demonstrates that there is no difference in LRR or survival between breast conserving therapy (BCT) and mastectomy in young patients. An increased risk of LRR in triple-negative cancers is apparent; yet this increased risk of LRR is present following surgical treatment with both BCT and mastectomy and does not significantly differ by age. Also, contralateral breast cancer rates remain low for all age groups and, although the use of contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) has increased, there is no evidence that CPM improves survival. At the other end of the age spectrum, there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating a favorable interaction between older age and molecular subtype such that many older women with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer may be spared axillary staging and/or radiation therapy without a detrimental impact on survival. Thus for both age and subtype, it appears that the intrinsic biology is the strongest predictor of outcome. Tumor biology, and not age, should be the driver in local therapy decision-making.
Trees and Streets as Drivers of Urban Stormwater Nutrient Pollution

Expansion of tree cover is a major management goal in cities because of the substantial benefits provided to people, and potentially to water quality through reduction of stormwater volume by interception. However, few studies have addressed the full range of potential impacts of trees on urban runoff, which includes deposition of nutrient-rich leaf litter onto streets connected to storm drains. We analyzed the influence of trees on stormwater nitrogen and phosphorus export across 19 urban watersheds in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN, U.S.A., and at the scale of individual streets within one residential watershed. Stormwater nutrient concentrations were highly variable across watersheds and strongly related to tree canopy over streets, especially for phosphorus. Stormwater nutrient loads were primarily related to road density, the dominant control over runoff volume. Street canopy exerted opposing effects on loading, where elevated nutrient concentrations from trees near roads outweighed the weak influence of t...
Genetically-determined abnormal behavior in dogs: Some implications for psychiatry

This paper discusses the neglect of behavioral genetics by psychiatry; summarizes experiments on a stable and an unstable strain of the pointer dog (reported in detail in a companion article); and points up the value of the obtained results for models of mental illness. The importance of genetically-determined extreme variations in temperament in shaping the individual's responses to particular environments is emphasized. These variations occur spontaneously among animals, and probably are relatively favored for procreation among civilized man and domesticated animals. Various dimensions of temperament and of inborn perceptual, cognitive, and integrational deficiencies are placed alongside early experience and later-life stresses, as equally important in contributing to mental breakdowns.
Regeneration of Injured Spinal Cord and Peripheral Nerves by α-Gal Nanoparticles

This chapter describes a hypothetical method for induction of injured nerve regeneration by application of α-gal nanoparticles to the lesion sites. α-Gal nanoparticles are submicroscopic liposomes that present many α-gal epitopes. Regeneration of severed neurons in the spinal cord and in peripheral nerves is dependent on axonal sprouts growing across the lesion gap and reconnecting with the endoneurial tubes of the distal axonal segment (referred to as “distal segments”). The growth of axonal sprouts occurs along newly formed capillaries and other small blood vessels from which the sprouts receive oxygen and nutrients. Because the axonal sprouts grow without specific orientation, the reconnection with the distal segments is a random rare event, which may occur if the axonal sprouts accidentally “find” these segments. If the regeneration is not successful within few weeks post injury, the nerve damage becomes permanent because of fibrosis that converts the lesion into scar segments and the complete degradation of the distal segments. Induction of extensive neovascularization in the nerve lesion site by administration of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was found to increase axonal sprouting and thus, increases the probability for regeneration by axonal sprouts reconnecting distal segments. It is suggested that α-gal nanoparticles applied to spinal cord injuries and to other nerve lesions will bind anti-Gal, activate complement, and generate complement cleavage chemotactic peptides that will induce extensive recruitment of macrophages. Macrophages reaching the α-gal nanoparticles within the lesions bind the anti-Gal coated nanoparticles via Fc/Fcγ receptor interaction and are polarized into becoming M2 macrophages that secrete VEGF and other prohealing cytokines/growth factors. The secreted VEGF induces neovascularization within the lesion resulting in extensive growth of many axonal sprouts, which ultimately increase the probability of severed axons reconnecting with the distal segments and regeneration of the injured nerve prior to formation of scar tissue within the lesion.
Nanotechnology as a Delivery Tool for Precision Cancer Therapies

Genomic analyses from patients with cancer have improved the understanding of the genetic elements that drive the disease, provided new targets for treating this relentless disease, and offered criteria for stratifying patient populations that will benefit most from treatments. In the last decade, several new targeted therapies have been approved by the FDA based on these omics findings, leading to significantly improved survival and quality of life for select patient populations. However, many of these precision medicines, e.g., nucleic acid-based therapies and antibodies, suffer from poor plasma stability, suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties, and immunological toxicities that prohibit their clinical translation. Nanotechnology is being explored as a delivery platform that can enable the successful delivery of these precision medicine treatments without these limitations. These precision nanomedicines are able to protect the cargo from degradation or premature/burst release prior to accumulation at the tumor site and improve the selectivity to cancer cells by incorporating ligands that can target receptors overexpressed on the cancer cell surface. Here, we review the development of several precision nanomedicines based on genomic analysis of clinical samples, actively targeted nanoparticle delivery systems in the clinic, and the pathophysiological barriers of the tumor microenvironment. Successful translation of these precision nanomedicine initiatives will require an effective collaboration between basic and clinical investigators to match the right patient with the right therapies and to deliver them at therapeutic concentrations which will improve overall treatment responses.
The COMMON Statement and The EQUIVALENT Statement

To pass information to and from a subroutine, the variables that represent this information should be placed as arguments of the subroutine. There is an alternative way of transmitting information to and from subroutines PARAM, HIST, and WRITE called a COMMON statement. The easiest way of using a COMMON statement is to list in a COMMON statement in the main program all the variables and arrays one wants to transmit between the main program and all the subroutines. The COMMON statement should be placed in the beginning of a program before any executable statement and before any DATA statements. Once a variable or an array has appeared in a COMMON statement, it cannot appear in the argument list of a subroutine. The COMMON list works in the same way as does the list of arguments used in subroutines. Used in its simplest form, a variable in a COMMON list in a subroutine that occupies the same position in the list as a variable in the main program corresponds to that variable.
Testosterone Effects on Gonadotropin Response to GNRH: Cows and Pony Mares

Effects of testosterone propionate (TP) treatment on plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) before and after an injection of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) were studied using ovariectomized cows and pony mares. An initial injection of GnRH (1 microgram/kg of body weight) was followed by either TP treatment or control injections for 10 (cows) or 11 (ponies) d. A second GnRH injection was administered 1 d after the last TP or oil injection. Concentrations of LH and FSH were determined in samples of plasma taken before and after each GnRH injection. Control injections did not alter the response to GnRH (area under curve) nor the pre-GnRH concentrations of LH and FSH in ovariectomized cows or ponies. Testosterone treatment increased (P less than .01) the FSH release in response to GnRH in ovariectomized mares by 4.9-fold; there was no effect in cows, even though average daily testosterone concentrations were 59% higher than in pony mares. Testosterone treatment reduced the LH release in response to GnRH by 26% in ovariectomized mares (P less than .05) and by 17% in ovariectomized cows (P approximately equal to .051). These results are consistent with a model that involves ovarian androgens in the regulation of FSH secretion in the estrous cycle of the mare, but do not support such a model in the cow.
Social Contacts of Adults with Severe Disabilities Living in the Community: A Descriptive Analysis of Relationship Patterns

Social integration and social support are critical elements in determining a person's quality of life. To date, however, very little descriptive information is available on patterns of social contact between persons with severe disabilities and typical members of local communities. This report presents information on the social interaction patterns of 23 adults with severe disabilities across a 2 1/2-year time period. The staff in small, community-based residential programs collected continuous counts of the activities performed by residents and the people (companions) with whom activities were performed. Only those contacts that occurred with people other than people paid to provide support or other residents in the program were counted. The results indicate great variability in the social contact patterns across the 23 people observed, but that on the average they had contact with 63.5 different companions across the 30 months of observation. Social contacts occurred on the average of once every 2 days,...
Comparison of automated grading of digital orthodontic models and hand grading of 3-dimensionally printed models.

Introduction Emerging workflows in orthodontics enable automated analysis of digital models and production of physical study models from digital files for the evaluation of treatment outcomes. The objective of this study was to compare the automated assessment of digital orthodontic models and the hand grading of 3D-printed models with the use of the American Board of Orthodontics cast-radiograph evaluation (ABO CRE) system. Methods Plaster models from 15 cases were scanned with the use of a desktop model scanner to create digital models from which physical models were produced with the use of a stereolithography-based 3D printer. All digital models from each case were graded with the use of an automated software tool (SureSmile), and 3D-printed models were scored by hand with the use of the ABO CRE grading system. All hand-graded models were scored a second time at least 2 weeks later. Results SureSmile gave statistically significantly higher scores to alignment and rotations (P Conclusions Scores assessed in an automated manner by SureSmile are generally significantly greater than those assessed by hand grading.
VALIDITY OF SINGLE NEURON CHEMICAL ANALYSIS: CAN MICROCHEMISTRY HELP TO SOLVE THE “HARD” QUESTIONS OF MODERN NEUROBIOLOGY?

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the validity of single neuron chemical analysis. To begin with, microchemical techniques and single cell analyses have found wider application within the nervous system, and single nerve cells have been more extensively studied than any other cell type. Subsequently, the analysis of minute regions or cellular components becomes crucial because of the presence of many different types of cells within small areas of the nervous system. To demonstrate the validity and the feasibility of the cellular approach one can set up a list of possible experiments. Interestingly, several single cell approaches have already been exploited with a marked degree of success and they are: 1) measurement of neurotransmitter levels in single vertebrate neurons; 2) measurement of neurotransmitter levels in the synaptic endings of identified neurons; 3) measurement of the neurotransmitter turnover and biosynthesis in single neurons in vitro; 4) measurement of the rate of axonal transport in single axons of identified neurons; 5) measurement of selective uptake mechanisms by cell body and endings of identified neurons; 6) study of the influence of behavioral and synaptic input on the regulation of specific protein synthesis; and 7) study of the problem of gene expression and protein metabolism in individual neurons.
Aerodynamic performance of augmented supersonic nozzles

The objective of this study is to understand how internal engine corrugated seals affect the aerodynamic performance of a convergent/divergent supersonic nozzle all the while promoting mixing. These corrugated seals are designed to protrude into the flow to alter the design pressure ratio of the nozzle through changes in area ratio. Measurements comprise axial thrust for nozzle pressure ratios ranging continuously from overexpanded to underexpanded nozzle flow states. Optical flow measurements using a z-type schlieren system are also used to qualitatively visualize the affect of protrusion depth on shock strength and boundary layer thickness at the nozzle exit. Findings reveal the effect of the corrugated seals on the double-shock pattern that forms from the imperfect expansion of the gas through this sharp throat nozzle. As much as a 2% increase in thrust coefficient is observed with one of the corrugated seal concepts and over a broad operating envelop corresponding to both overexpanded and underexpanded nozzle states.
Perceived Workplace Experiences of Adapted Physical Educators and Physical Educators

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the workplace experiences of physical education and adapted physical education teachers while also considering biological sex. Role socialization t...
Chapter 95 – Extension Entomology

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the organization of the Cooperative Extension Service at national, international, state, regional, and county levels. Cooperative extension is a land-grant university's face to the state's citizenry, just as teaching faculty is the university's face to students. By linking the university to the public, extension entomologists translate research results into practical applications and convey them to end users, while simultaneously apprising university researchers of real-world needs. The Smith–Lever Act of 1914 created the Cooperative Extension Service in the United States. The Cooperative Extension Service is a partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the land-grant institutions, and the 1890 institutions. At the national level, the Cooperative Extension Service is an integral part of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). CSREES serves as a critical connection between research and extension. Frequently, extension outreach in third-world nations is funded by agencies such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. Organizational structure of the Cooperative Extension Services varies greatly in size from state to state. Leadership of Cooperative Extension Services within each state is the responsibility of the dean and/or director of the agricultural college of the land-grant university and/or 1890 institution within each state. The interface between extension entomologists on the state and county staff tends to follow a similar model in the majority of states. County-level extension entomologists usually are termed agents, advisors, or educators. Additionally, entomology positions fall under either Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) or 4-H and Youth programmatic areas.