cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gordonia bronchialis Sternal Wound Infection in 3 Patients following Open Heart Surgery: Intraoperative Transmission from a Healthcare Worker

We describe an investigation of 3 postoperative Gordonia bronchialis sternal infections. A nurse anesthetist was identified as the source of the outbreak, her scrubs likely becoming contaminated by her home washing machine. The outbreak ended after disposal of the implicated washing machine. Domestic laundering of surgical scrubs may need reevaluation.
Napoleon Complex: Height Bias Among National Basketball Association Referees

Given the vast number of observations in a transparent environment, the interaction between players and referees in the National Basketball Association (NBA) provides a real-world laboratory that allows for observation and testing of implicit height-based biases (the so-called “Napoleon Complex”). Controlling for a plethora of referee-specific characteristics and including 4,463 regular season games from 2008 to 2012, we find that (i) more personal fouls are called when a relatively shorter three-person officiating crew is working and (ii) no more or fewer fouls are called when games involve relatively taller players. Such biases are probably not large enough to impact game outcomes but could affect gambling markets. Our findings support the conclusion that relatively shorter NBA referees officiate basketball games differently than their taller peers. The analysis spotlights an oft-suggested but rarely studied bias in a workplace where employees are heavily scrutinized and monitored.
Inhaled CO in the treatment of acute lung injury

acute lung injury is characterized by the loss of barrier function of the alveolar epithelial and pulmonary capillary endothelial cells along with acute inflammation ([19][1]). Epidemiological studies suggest that aspiration of gastric contents is a major clinical risk factor for the development of
The Effects of Live Music versus Tape-Recorded Music on Hospitalized Cancer Patients

This study compared the effects on hospitalized cancer patients of live music singing and guitar playing to the effects of tape-recorded music of the same material. Subjects were 50 cancer patients ranging in age from 17 to 69. They were randomly selected and placed into the live or taped music categories. Each subject listened to 25 minutes of music. Pre- and post-music mood states were recorded on the Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire. Additional post-music responses were recorded on the author’s Summary Questionnaire. The live and taped pre- and post-music scores were compared. The live music subjects reported significantly less (p < .05) TensionAnxiety and more Vigor than did the taped music subjects. In addition live music subjects reported significantly more changes in physical discomfort (p < .05), changes in mood (p < .01), and changes in mood for the better (p < .001); and recommended music sessions for others (p < .01). Results indicate the particular effectiveness of using live music to assist in relieving tension and promoting vigor. The human element inherent in live music is believed to be important.
Volatile production in irradiated normal, pale soft exudative (PSE) and dark firm dry (DFD) pork under different packaging and storage conditions.

Normal, pale soft exudative (PSE) and dark firm dry (DFD) pork Longissimus dorsi muscles were vacuum packaged, irradiated at 0 or 4.5 kGy and stored at 4°C for 10 days. Volatile production from pork loins was determined at Day 0 and Day 10 of storage at 4°C. With both aerobic and vacuum packaging, irradiation increased the production of sulfur-containing volatiles (carbon disulfide, mercaptomethane, dimethyl sulfide, methyl thioacetate and dimethyl disulfide) in all three pork conditions at Day 0 but did not increase hexanal - the major indicator volatile of lipid oxidation. The PSE pork produced the lowest amount of total sulfur-containing volatiles in both aerobically and vacuum-packaged pork at Day 0. The majority of sulfur-containing volatiles produced in meat by irradiation disappeared during the 10-day storage period under aerobic packaging conditions. With vacuum packaging, however, all the volatiles produced by irradiation remained in the packaging bag during storage. Irradiation had no relationship with lipid oxidation-related volatiles (e.g. hexanal) in both aerobic and vacuum-packaged raw pork. The DFD muscle was very stable and resistant to oxidative changes in both irradiated and nonirradiated pork during storage, suggesting that irradiation can significantly increase the utilization of raw DFD pork and greatly benefit the pork industry.
Nurses' accuracy in estimating backrest elevation.

• BACKGROUND Positioning patients is a key component of nursing care and can affect their morbidity and mortality. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that patients receiving mechanical ventilation have the head of the bed elevated 30° to 45° to prevent nosocomial pneumonia. However, use of higher backrest positions for critically ill patients is not common nursing practice. Backrest elevation may be affected by the accuracy of nurses’ estimates of patients’ positions. • OBJECTIVES To determine the difference between nurses’ estimates of bed angles and measured bed angles and to describe the relationship between nurses’ characteristics and the accuracy of their estimates. • METHODS A convenience sample of 67 nurses attending the 1999 American Association of CriticalCare Nurses National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition in New Orleans, La. Each subject provided demographic information and estimated 3 bed angles. The angles were preselected by using a random number table. Summary statistics were used and were categorized according to the demographic information provided by participants. Estimated angles were correlated with measured angles, and accuracies in estimating angles were correlated with demographic characteristics. • RESULTS Nurses were accurate in estimating bed angles (correlation, 0.8488). Demographic information, including sex, age, years of practice, years of critical care practice, basic education, highest educational level, and present position had no relationship to accuracy. • CONCLUSIONS Nurses are able to estimate backrest elevation accurately. Other explanations are needed to understand why recommendations for backrest elevation are not used in practice. (American Journal of Critical Care. 2002;11:34-37)
Description d'une nouvelle espèce de Deropeltis (Dictyoptera, Blattaria, Blattidae) et intérêt phylogénétique de la forme des paraproctes femelles chez les blattes

Des etudes anterieures ont montre que la forme des paraproctes est un caractere phylogenetique interessant chez les blattes. Ainsi, la famille des Polyphagidae a ete definie en partie sur cette base comme un groupe monophyletique incluant le genre Cryptocercus. Ce resultat a ete mis en doute par Klass (1995, 1997) d'apres l'observation des paraproctes de quelques Blattidae. D'apres la propre figure de cet auteur et contrairement a son affirmation, les paraproctes de Polyphagidae presentent bien une aire membraneuse sub-basale et interne, tandis que les paraproctes de Blattidae presentent une aire membraneuse mediane ou distale. Dans le but de definir une fois de plus sans ambiguite ce caractere phylogenetique, l'espece Deropeltis princisi n. sp. et ses paraproctes sont decrits. Cette nouvelle espece est connue pour le moment des monts Usambara orientaux en Tanzanie. Elle differe des especes les plus proches, decrites anterieurement d'Afrique de l'Est et du Sud, par la forme du pronotum, des ocelles et du clypeus et par la petite taille des pulvilli des metatarses posterieurs.
[Opinion] Is There a Prescription for Finding Top Talent in the Life Sciences Market?

Strategic resourcing models employed within the biopharmaceutical sector have been a hot topic lately—and for good reason. In the last decade, markets for life sciences products and services have increased exponentially, which means having the right talent in place is essential for any company
100 Gb/s All-Optical Logic

Ultrafast all-optical switches have many applications in the development of ultrahigh speed multi-access time-division multiplexing (TDM) networks.
Persistence of Neonatal Brachial Plexus Palsy Associated with Maternally Reported Route of Delivery: Review of 387 Cases.

Objective The factors associated with persistent neonatal brachial plexus palsy (PNBPP) are unknown. Our objectives are to compare PNBPP at 1 and 2 years in children delivered via vaginal delivery (VD) versus cesarean delivery (CD) and in children delivered via VD with or without reported shoulder dystocia (SD). Study Design Retrospective cohort of children diagnosed with neonatal brachial plexus palsy (NBPP). Maternally reported delivery history and presence of SD were recorded with Student t -test, chi-square test, and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) calculated for comparisons. Results Of 387 cases of NBPP, 8% (30) delivered via CD. Rates of PNBPP were higher in the VD group at 1 and 2 years (60% of CD and 85% of VD; OR, 0.26; 95% CI, 0.11–0.62 at 1 year; 33% of CD and 73% of VD; OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.05–0.39 at 2 years). There was no difference in PNBPP in women with VD with or without maternally reported SD (87 vs. 85%, p = 0.68 at 1 year; 64 vs. 61%, p = 0.61 at 2 years). Conclusion PNBPP is possible with CD, and there is no difference in PNBPP in VD with or without maternally reported SD. A prospective study is warranted to ascertain associative factors.
Working with Homeless and Vulnerable People: Basic Skills and Practices, by Jeanette Waegemakers Schiff

Engagement skills are critical in every form of social work practice. In practice with a historically vulnerable and stigmatized population, they become even more essential. This premise is the spi...
Modularity in Spacesuit Design: Using Form-to-Function Mapping to Inform Design Choices

The purpose of this paper is to explore the means by which flexibility can be incorporated into the design of spacesuits. Because the design lifetime of spacesuits is on the order of decades, it is important that they be able to adapt to change in their requirements. Flexibility is defined as the ability for a system to meet changes in requirements after it has been fielded. We argue that one means of achieving flexibility is via modular design, defined as a one-to-one mapping between form and function. Through examination of the form decompositions and form-to-function maps of the U.S. Spacesuit, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), it is apparent that the EMU’s architecture is highly integrated. Reorganizing the form decomposition of the EMU to group similar components leads to a more modular and thus flexible architecture. A similar technique could be used to evaluate proposed architectures for future spacesuits.
Meniscus-Mask Lithography for Fabrication of Narrow Nanowires

We demonstrate the efficiency of meniscus-mask lithography (MML) for fabrication of precisely positioned nanowires in a variety of materials. Si, SiO2, Au, Cr, W, Ti, TiO2, and Al nanowires are fabricated and characterized. The average widths, depending on the materials, range from 6 to 16 nm. A broad range of materials and etching processes are used and the generality of approach suggests the applicability of MML to a majority of materials used in modern planar technology. High reproducibility of the MML method is shown and some fabrication issues specific to MML are addressed. Crossbar structures produced by MML demonstrate that junctions of nanowires could be fabricated as well, providing the building blocks required for fabrication of nanowire structures of varied planar geometry.
Screening of Commercial and Pecan Shell–Extracted Liquid Smoke Agents as Natural Antimicrobials against Foodborne Pathogens

Liquid smoke extracts have traditionally been used as flavoring agents, are known to possess antioxidant properties, and serve as natural alternatives to conventional antimicrobials. The antimicrobial efficacies of commercial liquid smoke samples may vary depending on their source and composition and the methods used to extract and concentrate the smoke. We investigated the MICs of eight commercial liquid smoke samples against Salmonella Enteritidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli. The commercial liquid smoke samples purchased were supplied by the manufacturer as water-based or concentrated extracts of smoke from different wood sources. The MICs of the commercial smokes to inhibit the growth of foodborne pathogens ranged from 0.5 to 6.0% for E. coli, 0.5 to 8.0% for Salmonella, and 0.38 to 6% for S. aureus. The MIC for each liquid smoke sample was similar in its effect on both E. coli and Salmonella. Solvent-extracted antimicrobials prepared using pecan shells displayed significant differences between their inhibitory concentrations depending on the type of solvent used for extraction. The results indicated that the liquid smoke samples tested in this study could serve as effective natural antimicrobials and that their inhibitory effects depended more on the solvents used for extraction than the wood source.
Reliability assesment of power system at the presence of demand side management

Demand response (DR) is a key component of smart grids that can bring a lot of benefits to power system operators and customers. Most literature on DR focuses on the operation, control and planning aspects of “smart grids”, while its impact on, and potential for improving system reliability is less studied. DR can mitigate the operational limit violations by changing the load profile when the reliability of the system is jeopardized. This work assesses potential impacts of demand response on the loss of load probability (LOLP: expected number of days per period on which capacity is insufficient), which is a widely used metric of power system reliability. We considered detailed and practical models of individual residential loads for flexible loads. The flexible load models used in this work are various household appliances with different acceptable delay times (ADTs) within which their consumption can be shifted from the normal schedules. The obtained results show that the DSM can decrease the LOLP.
Expression of autophagy gene Beclin-1 in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Objective To explore the relationship of expression of Beclin-1 between acute lymphoblastic leukemia and clinical classification and other clinical signs.Methods To detect the expression instance of Beclin-1 in peripheral blood cells of acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients(experimental group) by immunohistochemical SPmethod(streptavidin-perosidase,Streptomycete avidin peroxidase method) and normal people(as control group).Results(1)The expression ratio of Beclin-1 in peripheral blood cells was 28.5%(6/21) in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients and 72.5%(29/40) in normal people.The expression ratio of Beclin-1 in acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients was significantly lower than in normal people.And there were significant differences between them(P0.01).(2) The expression ratio of Beclin-1 was 36.3% (4/11) in the male patients and 20%(2/10) in the female patients,between which there was no significant difference(P 0.05).(3) The expression ratio of Beclin-1 was 33.3%(4/12) in L1 and 11.1%(2/9) in L2 in the clinical classification,between which there was no significant difference(P0.05).Conclusion The expression ratio of Beclin-1 in peripheral blood cells of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia is lower than of normal people.
Calculations of avalanche breakdown voltages of abrupt Si p–n junctions

Empirical expressions for the breakdown voltage of p-n junctions are useful in the design of epitaxial n + pnn + power transistors. In this paper an empirical expression is obtained based on the ionization rates of Van Overstraeton and De Man, and closed form expressions are obtained for optimal collector doping and epitaxial layer width as a function of open base breakdown voltage subject to a minimum collector resistance.
Neonatal bladder rupture: case report and review of literature

Neonatal bladder rupture is rare. A review of the literature revealed less than 16 cases. A case of posterior urethral valves and associated neonatal ascites due to bladder perforation is presented.
The influence of multiple oppressions on women of color’s experiences with insidious trauma.

In this study, we examined the relations between multiple forms of oppressive experiences (i.e., racism, sexism, and sexual objectification) and trauma symptoms among Women of Color (WOC). In addition, self-esteem was explored as a partial mediating variable in these links, and ethnic identity strength was proposed to buffer the negative relationship between multiple forms of oppression and self-esteem, and the positive relationship between oppressive experiences and trauma symptoms. Results suggested that self-esteem partially mediated the positive relationship between racist experiences and trauma symptoms, such that racism was related to lower self-esteem, which was then related to more trauma symptoms. Sexism and sexual objectification were directly linked with trauma symptoms. Moreover, average and high levels of ethnic identity strength buffered the positive link between racism and trauma symptoms. Consistent with an additive intersectionality framework, results demonstrate the importance of attending to multiple forms of oppression as they relate to trauma symptoms among WOC. (PsycINFO Database Record
Ecological interface design: Some premises

This chapter presents three premises of an ecological approach to human-machine systems. The first premise is that human-machine systems are dynamic, closed-loop systems that require a circular view of causality. The second premise is that the behaviour of these dynamic systems can best be understood in terms of the constraints in the functional workspace. These constraints include design intentions (e.g., functional goals), physical laws, organizational structure, and physical process and form. The final premise is that the explicit representation of the workspace constraints in the interface will greatly facilitate performance and will enhance the overall stability of the human-machine system.
Cyclic Nucleotides and Changes in Protein Kinase Activity Ratio in the Ischemic and Nonischemic Myocardium

Following coronary artery ligation (CAL), levels of cAMP and the activity ratio of cAMP-dependent protein kinase, of Phosphorylase kinase, and of Phosphorylase are significantly elevated in both ischemic and nonischemic areas of the canine left ventricle. The aerobic level of cAMP was found to be 0.4 to 0.6 pmol/mg myocardium only after a precooled clamp or a cryobiopsy device was employed to guarantee tissue freezing in situ. Maximal changes in response to ischemia are observed within 2 min in both parts of the heart. Twenty minutes after the onset of ischemia, different responses have been found in the nonischemic and ischemic tissue. Whereas the levels of cAMP and the activity ratio of protein kinase, of Phosphorylase kinase, and of Phosphorylase returned to aerobic values in the nonischemic area, these parameters remained elevated in the ischemic area. The changes in the levels of myocardial cAMP and in the cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity ratio following CAL could be prevented by propranolol.
Analytical calculation of temperature profiles in solid state laser disks mounted on multi-layered heat spreaders using Hankel transforms

The main challenge in thin disk laser design is the realization of efficient heat removal from the pumped area by optimizing the heat spreading and the water impingement cooling. This generally requires calculating of the temperature distribution in the disk by numerically solving the heat conduction equation using finite element algorithms. We have developed a simple method to calculate disk temperature profiles that is based on analytically solving the heat conduction equation in Hankel Transform Space. This method can be applied to disks that are mounted on multi-layered, water-cooled heat spreaders, which may include glue or solder layers and dielectric coating layers. This allows parametric optimization of the heat removal process in pumped solid state and semiconductor disks without having to use finite-element programs.
Eemian paleoclimate zones and Neanderthal landscape-use: A GIS model of settlement patterning during the last interglacial

Abstract Obstacles to our understanding of Neanderthal land-use patterns during the Last Interglacial (130kya-116kya, Marine Isotope Stage 5e) include not only the scarcity of sites in Europe but also a lack of knowing what the landscape may have looked like during this time. This research explores the influence of climate on Neanderthal land-use. Recently developed global climate models are capable of simulating past climate variables (e.g., precipitation and temperature), and geographic information system (GIS) tools can then be used to interpolate these data to model the niches of past organisms into paleoclimate zones. This study uses Maximum Likelihood Classification analysis in GIS to create a mosaic landscape of 22 paleoclimate zones to reconstruct what Europe may have looked like during the Last Interglacial Eemian. When overlain with the location of Last Interglacial archaeological sites, it is possible to visualize Neanderthal landscape use with respect to these climate zones. The modeled paleoclimate zones show there was a preference for site locations in Warm Temperate and Mesic climates. It also shows that Neanderthals did not commonly live near climate zone margins, preferring to stay in their “home” climate zone. The Warm Temperate and Mesic climate regime may have been preferred as a more climatically stable region, resulting in less biological stress related to thermoregulation.
Management of Hypercalciuria and Oxalates in the Prevention of Stone Recurrence

Urinary excretion of calcium and oxalate are two of the critical determinants of urine supersaturation of calcium oxalate salts and the risk of calcium oxalate stone formation. Therefore, treatment to reduce stone recurrence is focused on lowering the excretion of these lithogenic factors. Both diet and medication can lower urine calcium. Thiazide diuretics have been shown to reduce stone recurrence in randomized controlled trials and have the added benefit of improving bone mineral density. Citrate and bisphosphonates can lower urine calcium modestly but have not been well studied in hypercalciuric stone disease. Treatments to lower oxalate are not as well documented as are those for hypercalciuria. For idiopathic hyperoxaluria, pyridoxine and magnesium have been proposed as therapies, but there is conflicting data regarding their effectiveness. In enteric hyperoxaluria, low-oxalate diets and calcium supplements to bind dietary oxalate are the standard therapy. There is great interest in the use of oxalate-degrading bacteria as probiotics to treat hyperoxaluria, but human data is limited at this time.
Lateral Exchange Markets: How Social Platforms Operate in a Networked Economy

AbstractLateral exchange markets (LEMs) are sites of technologically intermediated exchange between actors occupying equivalent network positions. To develop an enriched understanding of these markets, the authors develop a more broad-based and differentiated understanding of peer-to-peer, sharing, and access-based markets. They focus on two key axes: the extent of (1) consociality and (2) platform intermediation. Drawing on these attributes, the authors theoretically deduce four ideal types—Forums, Enablers, Matchmakers, and Hubs. Each type provides value in a different way: Forums connect actors, Enablers equip actors, Matchmakers pair actors, and Hubs centralize exchange. Twenty organizational cases reveal insights into the failure, adaptation, and success of LEMs. Lateral exchange markets shift responsibility for personal and exchange security to relevant personal actors, to institutions, or to the governing algorithms of technology platforms. Extending the general proposition that sociality increasin...
On the Relation of Bone Mineral Density and the Elastic Modulus in Healthy and Pathologic Bone

Osteoporosis could lead to the bone mechanical failure. To examine the bone health, mechanical properties are often estimated from the images of the bone density. Here, we review the relationships that have been experimentally determined between mineral density and the elastic modulus and factors that affect these relationships. Studies, which have investigated the relation between the elastic modulus and bone mineral at the bulk scale, have shown that approximately 70% of variations in the elastic modulus can be explained based on the amount of mineral in bone. At the tissue level, however, higher resolution techniques are used to characterize the density and modulus more locally, and this leads to the correlation of mineral with modulus to be not as strong as that of the bulk level and often times, insignificant. This observation indicates the importance of structural hierarchy and mineral crystal organization in determining the local stiffness of the bone tissue. At the bulk level in bone (cm scale), modulus (E) is related to density (ρ) through a power law relationship (E ∝ ρα). At the tissue level (μm–mm scale), the relationship between the modulus and density is weak, likely due to the effect of microstructural features at small length scales.
High-Pressure Reverse Osmosis for Energy-Efficient Hypersaline Brine Desalination: Current Status, Design Considerations, and Research Needs

Water scarcity, expected to become more widespread in the coming years, demands renewed attention to freshwater protection and management. Critical to this effort are the minimization of freshwater withdrawals and elimination of wastewater discharge, both of which can be achieved via zero liquid discharge (ZLD), an aggressive wastewater management approach. Because of the high energetic cost of thermal desalination, ZLD is particularly challenging for high-salinity wastewaters. In this review, we discuss the potential of high-pressure reverse osmosis (HPRO) (i.e., reverse osmosis operated at a hydraulic pressure greater than ∼100 bar) to efficiently desalinate hypersaline brines. We first discuss the inherent energy efficiency of membrane processes compared to that of conventional thermal processes for brine desalination. We then highlight the opportunity of HPRO to reduce energy requirements for desalination of key high-salinity industrial wastewaters. The current state of membrane materials and processe...
Animal models of psychiatric disorders.

Abstract An animal model can be viewed as an experimental paradigm developed for the purpose of studying a given phenomenon found in humans. Although there are no complete animal models of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, or addiction, animal models do exist for many elements of the syndrome. Animal models for antidepressant medications include a number of tests with good predictive validity, but limited construct validity, and include the forced swim test, modified swim test, learned helplessness, olfactory bulbectomy, differential reinforcement of low rates of responding, maternal deprivation, neonatal clomipramine treatment, social stress in shrews, chronic mild stress, agonistic behavior, and Flinders sensitive rats. Animal models of depression that have face validity and construct validity for a key element of depression are reward deficits measured by brain stimulation reward and progressive-ratio responding for a natural reward. Widely used animal models of generalized anxiety include the operant conflict test, elevated plus maze, defensive withdrawal, defensive burying, and social interaction, all of which have face and predictive validity. Animal models for individual types of anxiety disorder remain a challenge, with some advances in posttraumatic stress disorder, which includes models of repeated shock stressors, repeated social stressors, and a single prolonged stress paradigm. Animal models of schizophrenia are limited by the limited knowledge of the pathophysiology of the disease but include pharmacological, developmental, and genetic models combined with behavioral tests with some face and contruct validity, such as locomotor activity (positive symptoms), prepulse inhibition of the startle response (attention), latent inhibition (attention), social withdrawal (negative symptoms), and measures of executive function. Animal models of addiction can be organized within the stages of the addiction cycle, including: binge/intoxication (drug or alcohol self-administration, conditioned place preference, brain stimulation reward thresholds), withdrawal/negative affect (anxiety-like responses, conditioned place aversion, elevated reward thresholds, withdrawal-induced increases in drug self-administration), and preoccupation/anticipation (drug-induced reinstatement, cue-induced reinstatement, stress-induced reinstatement). These models have excellent face and construct validity and have led to major insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of addiction. Animal models remain a key heuristic approach to elucidation of the pathophysiology and treatment of psychiatric disorders.
Sunlight, UV Radiation, Vitamin D, and Skin Cancer: How Much Sunlight Do We Need?

Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin for good reason. During exposure to sunlight, the ultraviolet B photons enter the skin and photolyze 7-dehydrocholesterol to previtamin D3 which in turn is isomerized by the body’s temperature to vitamin D3. Most humans have depended on sun for their vitamin D requirement. Skin pigment, sunscreen use, aging, time of day, season and latitude dramatically affect previtamin D3 synthesis. Vitamin D deficiency was thought to have been conquered, but it is now recognized that more than 50% of the worlds population is at risk for vitamin D deficiency. This deficiency is in part due to the inadequate fortification of foods with vitamin D and the misconception that a healthy diet contains an adequate amount of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency causes growth retardation and rickets in children and will precipitate and exacerbate osteopenia, osteoporosis and increase risk of fracture in adults. The vitamin D deficiency has been associated pandemic with other serious consequences including increased risk of common cancers, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases and cardiovascular disease. There needs to be a renewed appreciation of the beneficial effect of moderate sunlight for providing all humans with their vitamin D requirement for health.
The effect of crowding on the immune response of the blue gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus, to infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) virus

Abstract The blue gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus , was maintained under crowded and uncrowded conditions with and without methylchloroform extraction of its tank water. The effects of these various conditions on the immune response of this fish to Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN) virus was determined. This fish was found to produce water-borne immunosuppressive factors soluble in methylchloroform. The phermone-like immunosuppressive factors released in a crowded fish population could explain, at least in part, the eruption of a disease under unfavorable environmental conditions.
Let’s Chat: On-Screen Social Responsiveness Is Not Sufficient to Support Toddlers’ Word Learning From Video

Joint engagement with a speaker is one cue children may use to establish that an interaction is relevant to them and worthy of attention. People on pre-recorded video cannot engage contingently with a viewer in shared experiences, possibly leading to deficits in learning from video relative to learning from responsive face-to-face encounters. One hundred and thirty two toddlers (24 and 30 months old) were offered referential social cues disambiguating a novel word's meaning in one of four conditions: responsive live (a speaker was present and engaged with children); unresponsive video (a speaker on video looked at the camera and smiled at scripted times); unresponsive live (although present, the speaker behaved as she did on the unresponsive video), and responsive video (a speaker on closed-circuit video engaged with children, as in video chat). Children of both ages reliably learned the word in the responsive live condition, and older children (30 months) learned in the unresponsive live condition. Neither group learned in the responsive or unresponsive video conditions. The results show that the addition of communicative social cues to the video presentation via video chat was not sufficient to support learning in this case. Rather, toddlers' transfer and generalization of words presented on video chat may depend on other contextual factors, such as co-viewers who scaffold their learning. Live, responsive video as implemented in this and prior studies is compared, with implications for the use of video chat via the Internet with young children.
A Double Hybrid State-Space Model for Real-Time Sensor-Driven Monitoring of Deteriorating Systems

With the rising complexity of deteriorating systems and availability of advanced sensors, the need for more robust and reliable methods for condition monitoring and dynamic maintenance decision-making has significantly increased. To generate more reliable results for reliability analysis of complex systems, we propose a new generative framework for failure prognosis utilizing a hybrid state-space model (SSM) that represents the evolution of the system’s operating condition and its degradation over time. The proposed model can employ a set of real-time sensor measurements to: 1) diagnose the hidden degradation level of the system and 2) predict the likelihood and the uncertainty of failure without imposing unrealistic heavy distributional assumptions. We provide analytical results for the prediction and update steps of the associated particle filter, as well as for the estimation of model parameters. A single-layer feed-forward neural network (Extreme Learning Machine) was used to model the nonparametric relationship between the multi-dimensional observation process and the rest of system’s dynamics. We demonstrate the application of our framework through numerical experiments on a set of simulated data and a turbofan engine degradation data set. Note to Practitioners —The prognosis of the future health status in degrading systems using sensor data generally requires many distributional assumptions, such as a parametric relationship between the hidden degradation level and sensor measurements, and a predefined degradation threshold. This paper proposes a new model that formulates the relationship between degradation level, sensor measurements, and operating conditions in a multi-layer generative manner that helps accommodate interpretability and uncertainty. Results obtained utilizing simulated and real-life data prove that the developed method can yield reasonable prognostic estimates for important measures, such as the remaining useful life of the system.
Association between free tobacco product sample receipt and tobacco use in youth and adults in the PATH Study, 2014-2016

Tobacco companies have distributed free samples of tobacco products in the past. While prior studies have found a relationship between various marketing strategies and tobacco use, no study has assessed the prevalence of free sample receipt or the relationship between receipt and subsequent tobacco use. We analyze three waves of Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study data to provide the first nationally representative prevalence estimates of free tobacco product receipt among US youth and adults in 2014 to 2016. This analysis also examines the relationship between free tobacco product receipt and ever, past 30-day, and new tobacco use one year later. The prevalence of free sample receipt in the US population in 2014-2016 was 0.8% for any tobacco product but 1.6% for ENDS/e-liquid in adults, and 0.5% for any tobacco product but 1.05% for ENDS/e-liquid in youth. Free sample receipt was higher among vulnerable subgroups. Receipt of free tobacco product samples was associated with tobacco use status using cross-sectional data in youth and adults, as well as one year later in youth. Receipt of a free ENDS or e-liquid sample was associated with any tobacco and ENDS use status using cross-sectional data in youth and adults. After these data were collected, the US Food and Drug Administration broadened the ban on distributing free samples to include all tobacco products except smokeless tobacco in adult-only facilities. Our findings support limiting free samples to further prevent youth access to tobacco products.
Intraoperative cytology of pituicytomas.

Background Pituicytoma is a rare tumor of the sella and suprasellar region. It is common for these tumors to be misdiagnosed radiographically as pituitary adenomas, meningiomas, and craniopharyngiomas. Histologically, pituicytomas are also known to show variable morphology. These factors often complicate intraoperative consultation, especially when tissue is limited. Methods A database search (January 1990-June 2019) identified 13 surgically resected pituicytomas that were sent for intraoperative consultation. The intraoperative cytology was reviewed by two pathologists, and both squash preparations/smears and touch preparations were included. Results The cytological features of pituicytomas were variable. The cytoplasm ranged from fibrillary to fine and wispy. The nuclei were round to ovoid with occasional tumors showing spindled morphology. Small nucleoli were seen in all tumors, and chromatin was fine to vesicular. While squash preparations were cellular and revealed cohesive groups of tumor cells, touch preparations were often paucicellular with the exception of one tumor. The cytological features of pituicytomas are compared to those of other tumors with similar radiographic appearances. Conclusions Our findings illustrate the range of cytological features of these rare tumors and highlight the difficulty in making a definitive intraoperative diagnosis. Pituicytomas should be considered in the differential of a sellar/suprasellar lesion with glial and meningioma-like cytological features.
Algorithms and the Bicentennial.

HISTORY often helps us to comprehend the significance of a contemporary event. To suggest some of the uniqueness of the American Bicentennial, consider the fa mous city-state of Athens. It prospered as a democracy for little more than a hundred years. Athens began as a democratic state in approximately 508 B.C. with the adop tion of a constitution drafted by Cleis thenes. It fell under the rule of Sparta in approximately 404 B.C. The durability of our experiment with democracy is quite re markable in this context. The Bicentennial provides us with an op portunity to pause and reflect on our ac complishments as well as on our yet-to-be realized aspirations. During these 200 years, the knowledge component of math ematics has undergone startling growth, and several additional process strategies for constructing new mathematics have been introduced into the discipline. Much new content has found its way into the contem
CAPP: A Context-Aware Proof of Presence for Crowdsensing Incentives

As crowdsensing applications become more prevalent, they are becoming a more frequent target of attacks. Attacks on incentive systems are difficult to prevent because the attacker is not necessarily submitting malicious data, in fact, the data is typically completely valid, so previous work in data trust and integrity will not prevent these attacks. We have taken a context-aware approach to preventing attackers from submitting useless information to exploit incentive systems. Our system requires participants to submit a context package along with the data they are collecting. This context package acts as a proof that they were where they said they were when they said they were and is evaluated using a machine learning model. The system is able to achieve an F1 score of 0.93 against an attacker that submits arbitrary context information. We have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach in such a way that it raises the cost to attackers to submit arbitrary data to a crowdsensing system to exploit its incentive mechanisms.
Novel Imaging Strategies in Systemic Sclerosis

Imaging modalities such as computed tomography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and molecular imaging are being used to evaluate for disease in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients. Here, we review novel imaging strategies to detect organ and vascular complications of SSc and novel imaging techniques for assessing interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension in other conditions that may have further applicability to SSc. Imaging techniques can be used to identify disease in the lungs, pulmonary vascular system, heart, skin, vascular tissue, and gastrointestinal tract of SSc patients. These show promise in detecting early disease, many without the use of ionizing radiation. Novel imaging techniques in patients with SSc can be used to detect disease in multiple susceptible organs. These imaging strategies have potential for early disease detection, as well as potential for incorporation into clinical trials to accelerate the development of SSc therapies.
Isolated nuclei stiffen in response to low intensity vibration

Abstract The nucleus, central to all cellular activity, relies on both direct mechanical input and its molecular transducers to sense and respond to external stimuli. While it has been shown that isolated nuclei can adapt to applied force ex vivo, the mechanisms governing nuclear mechanoadaptation in response to physiologic forces in vivo remain unclear. To investigate nuclear mechanoadaptation in cells, we developed an atomic force microscopy (AFM) based procedure to probe live nuclei isolated from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) following the application of low intensity vibration (LIV) to determine whether nuclear stiffness increases as a result of LIV. Results indicated that isolated nuclei were, on average, 30% softer than nuclei tested within intact MSCs prior to LIV. When the nucleus was isolated following LIV (0.7 g, 90 Hz, 20 min) applied four times (4×) separated by 1 h intervals, stiffness of isolated nuclei increased 75% compared to non-LIV controls. LIV-induced nuclear stiffening required functional Linker of Nucleoskeleton and Cytoskeleton (LINC) complex, but was not accompanied by increased levels of the nuclear envelope proteins LaminA/C or Sun-2. While depleting LaminA/C or Sun-1&2 resulted in either a 47% or 39% increased heterochromatin to nuclear area ratio in isolated nuclei, the heterochromatin to nuclear area ratio was decreased by 25% in LIV-treated nuclei compared to controls, indicating LIV-induced changes in the heterochromatin structure. Overall, our findings indicate that increased apparent cell stiffness in response to exogenous mechanical challenge of MSCs in the form of LIV is in part retained by increased nuclear stiffness and changes in heterochromatin structure.
Mining Bike-Share Data

This paper studies methods for processing bike-share datasets for the purpose of extracting information that can assist riders, bike-share program designers, city planners, and others. Bike-share datasets describe how shared bicycles are used in an urban environment. They vary considerably in composition and coverage but typically include information such as the locations (bicycle racks) of origin and destination, timestamps, and identifiers for bicycles and riders. This paper provides methods for visualizing such data in a manner that distills useful patterns and for using the data to predict usage. In order to overcome the difficulty in generating meaningful clusters using conventional methods, it presents a novel method of clustering that uses graph condensations. It describes an experimental study of these methods using a publicly available dataset from a popular bike-share program. Results include the encouraging visualizations using graph condensations, significant benefits of some computed features such as trip durations, and some insights for planning related to periodicity and the effects of a pandemic such as COVID-19.
De novo protein synthesis is necessary for priming in preclinical models of migraine

BackgroundMigraine attacks are often triggered by normally innocuous stimuli, suggesting that sensitization within the nervous system is present. One mechanism that may contribute to neuronal sensi...
Mitochondrial Miro GTPases coordinate mitochondrial and peroxisomal dynamics.

Mitochondria and peroxisomes are highly dynamic, multifunctional organelles. Both perform key roles for cellular physiology and homoeostasis by mediating bioenergetics, biosynthesis, and/or signall...
Auxiliary Tasks for Efficient Learning of Point-Goal Navigation

Top-performing approaches to embodied AI tasks like point-goal navigation often rely on training agents via reinforcement learning over tens of millions (or even billions) of experiential steps – learning neural agents that map directly from visual observations to actions. In this work, we question whether these extreme training durations are necessary or if they are simply due to the difficulty of learning visual representations purely from task reward. We examine the task of point-goal navigation in photorealistic environments and introduce three auxiliary tasks that encourage learned representations to capture key elements of the task – local scene geometry, transition dynamics of the environment, and progress towards the goal. Importantly, these can be evaluated independent of task performance and provide strong supervision for representation learning. Our auxiliary tasks are simple to implement and rely on supervision already present in simulators commonly used for point-goal navigation. Applying our auxiliary losses to agents from prior works, we observe a >4 × improvement in sample efficiency – in 17 million steps, our augmented agents outperforms state-of-the-art agents trained for 72 million steps.
Introducing echocardiography to medical students: A novel echocardiography E-Learning experience.

Background Echocardiography is fundamental in the understanding of cardiology; however, echocardiography is not routinely taught in medical schools. The aim of this study is to assess whether teaching echocardiography to preclinical medical students using an e-learning software (ELS) is practical and appropriate. Methods From 2017 to 2019, 1084 second-year medical students at Indiana University School of Medicine were introduced to echocardiography by using the ELS. In 2017 and 2018 students had a postcourse survey to assess echocardiography appropriateness and cardiology learning. Students in 2018 and 2019 were assessed for any association between the use of the ELS and learning cardiology by comparing examination scores. Results In 2017-2018, 127 students responded to the survey (18% response rate). In 2017, 79% of responders and in 2018, 89% reported that introducing echocardiography to medical students is appropriate. In 2017, 78% and in 2018, 87% reported that it improved the understanding of cardiology. Student ELS usage was high for 2017-2018 (93% and 70%) but dropped in 2019 (30%). In 2018 and 2019, students who used ELS did statistically significantly better on the examination (total scores 84% vs. 82% (P = .008) in 2018; 84% vs. 81% (P = .002) in 2019). Conclusions Many 2nd year medical students felt learning echocardiography with ELS was appropriate and enhanced their learning cardiology. Using echocardiography to help learn cardiology appears to be supported with an association of ELS usage and improved examination scores. Our study suggests that echocardiography learning can and probably should begin in medical school.