cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design and visualization of the central, eastern, and Southern African power grid with large-scale generation in Tanzania

The inadequate, and oftentimes scarce, infrastructure in Africa is largely hinged on poor electricity generation and transmission in the continent. To combat this, several projects have commenced in different regions and countries to boost electricity supply. This affords the continent the opportunity to pool together their different electricity resources and generation capabilities in a bid to stimulate regional cooperation and a power market. Fortunately, the existing four power pools provide a good foundation upon which the opportunity for an interconnected ‘African grid’ can be realized. Recent discoveries of large reserves of less-pollutant gas along the shores of Tanzania, hydro capability in Congo and other regions provide more impetus to a continental corridor for bulk transmission of electricity. However, these potentials are dependent on effective policy-making and implementation that are based on sound judgement. This paper summarizes the existing grid interconnection within Africa, and the prospects that abound by utilizing the power systems simulator — PowerWorld — to visualize the grid. Current grid models that have been designed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are presented. It is hoped that policy-makers and other stakeholders can make more-informed decisions based on understanding power systems using intuitive visualization software.
Small Animal Models for Studying Filovirus Pathogenesis

Filovirus small animal disease models have so far been developed in laboratory mice, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Since immunocompetent rodents do not exhibit overt signs of disease following infection with wild-type filoviruses isolated from humans, rodent models have been established using adapted viruses produced through sequential passage in rodents. Rodent-adapted viruses target the same cells/tissues as the wild-type viruses, making rodents invaluable basic research tools for studying filovirus pathogenesis. Moreover, comparative analyses using wild-type and rodent-adapted viruses have provided beneficial insights into the molecular mechanisms of pathogenicity and acquisition of species-specific virulence. Additionally, wild-type filovirus infections in immunodeficient rodents have provided a better understanding of the host factors required for resistance to filovirus infection and of the immune response against the infection. This chapter provides comprehensive information on the filovirus rodent models and rodent-adapted filoviruses. Specifically, we summarize the clinical and pathological features of filovirus infections in all rodent models described to date, including the recently developed humanized and collaborative cross (CC) resource recombinant inbred (RI) intercrossed (CC-RIX) mouse models. We also cover the molecular determinants responsible for adaptation and virulence acquisition in a number of rodent-adapted filoviruses. This chapter clearly defines the characteristic and advantages/disadvantages of rodent models, helping to evaluate the practical use of rodent models in future filovirus studies.
Monozygotic Twins with GATA2 Deficiency: Same Haploidentical-related Donor, Different Severity of GvHD.

Monozygotic twins with GATA2 deficiency: same haploidentical-related donor, different severity of GvHD
Intercultural Marriage: Problems and Therapy

This chapter focuses on the role played by pyschotherapist in a troubled intercultural marriage. "Intercultural marriage" refers to a marriage formed by partners with relatively diverse cultural backgrounds so that different cultural factors, including different views, beliefs, value systems, and attitudes toward couples, become the main issues in their marital adjustment. One of the major problems encountered by intermarried couples is the lack of understanding and appreciation of each other's culture. Specifically, such couples are unaware that their contrasting viewpoints and behaviors are often based on their different cultural upbringings rather than some problem in the relationship or with them as individuals. The general goal for couple therapists is to promote communication between troubled married partners who tend to under- or misunderstand each other. When a therapist works with an interculturally married couple, the therapeutic suggestions made by him or her are very likely to be influenced by his or her culture, either consciously or unconsciously. The therapist needs to make an effort to examine his or her cultural position all the time and maintain a neutrality without personal (cultural) bias as much as possible, and avoid being trapped into the cultural conflict between the interculturally married husband and wife and taking sides emotionally and conceptually with either of them. As the partners may not share the same primary language, there is a need for assistance in clarifying and understanding the meaning of what has been said between them, where the therapist can serve as an interpreter or facilitator. The therapist can help the couple to be curious about each other's culture and to discover, discuss, and understand the differences in their beliefs, values, concepts, expectations, and attitudes about various things.
Temperature Sensitivity and Compensation on a Reconfigurable Platform

This brief investigates temperature compensation techniques for circuits and systems on a reconfigurable platform. The work demonstrates use of large-scale reconfigurable system-on-chip for reducing the variability of circuits and systems compiled on a floating gate (FG)-based field-programmable analog array (FPAA). The work presents current and voltage reference which could help in reducing the variability caused due to changes in temperature. These references are standard blocks in the Scilab/Xcos environment, which could be easily compiled on the FPAA. An FG-based current reference is then used for biasing a second-order $G_{m}-C$ bandpass filter to demonstrate the compilation and usage of these voltage/current reference in a reconfigurable fabric. The large-scale FG FPAA presented here is fabricated in 350-nm CMOS process.
Medicaid and fulfillment of desired postpartum sterilization

Abstract Objective We sought to assess fulfillment of sterilization requests while accounting for the complex interplay between insurance, clinical and social factors in a contemporary context that included both inpatient and outpatient postpartum sterilization procedures. Study design This is a retrospective single-center cohort chart review study of 1331 women with a documented contraceptive plan at time of postpartum discharge of sterilization. We compared sterilization fulfillment within 90 days of delivery, time to sterilization and rate of subsequent pregnancy after nonfulfillment between women with Medicaid and women with private insurance. Results A total of 475 of 1030 Medicaid-insured and 100 of 154 privately insured women received postpartum sterilization (46.1% vs. 64.9%, p Conclusion Differences in fulfillment rates of postpartum sterilization and time to sterilization between women with Medicaid versus private insurance are similar after adjusting for relevant clinical and demographic factors. Women with Medicaid are more likely than women with private insurance to have a short interval repeat pregnancy after an unfulfilled sterilization request. Implications Efforts are needed to ensure that Medicaid recipients who desire sterilization receive timely services.
Sustained Effects of Collaborative School-Home Intervention for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms and Impairment.

Objectives The Collaborative Life Skills (CLS) program is a school-home intervention for students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and impairment. CLS integrates school, parent, and student treatments followed by booster sessions during a maintenance period into the subsequent school year. The program is delivered by school-based mental health providers. Beneficial post-treatment effects have been documented. This study evaluated the effects of CLS after the maintenance period in the subsequent school year. Method Using a cluster randomized design, schools within a large urban public school district were randomly assigned to CLS (12 schools) or usual services (11 schools). Approximately 6 students participated at each school (N = 135, grade range = 2–5). Measures were completed at baseline, after treatment, and follow-up during the next school year. Results Students from schools assigned to CLS compared with those assigned to usual services showed significantly greater improvement at follow-up on parent, but not teacher, ratings of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder symptom severity, organizational skills, and global impairment. Within-group analyses indicated that parent- and teacher-reported post-treatment gains for CLS in ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms, organizational skills, and academic competence were maintained into the next school year. Conclusions These results extend support for CLS to the following school year by demonstrating sustained benefits on parent-reported ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder symptoms and functional impairment. The lack of significant teacher-reported differences between CLS and usual services highlights the need for further study of booster treatments for improving outcomes with new teachers across school years. Clinical trial registration information Study of the Collaborative Life Skills Program; http://clinicaltrials.gov ; NCT01686724 .
The Role of Social Ideologies in Legitimizing Political Attitudes and Public Policy

In democracies, citizens are supposed to be free to decide what laws and institutional practices they believe are right, and to enact those beliefs through political influence. In such a context, it makes sense for researchers to ask why people support the politicians, political parties, and policies that they do (e.g., Himmelweit, Humphreys, & Jaeger, 1985), how cultural context influences people’s political preferences (e.g., Schwartz & Bardi, 1997), and to identify the political consequences of political attitudes (e.g., Rokeach, 1973). As Skitka and Mullen’s (this volume) review shows, many basic psychological processes influence people’s political attitudes. Political psychology must also consider the political implications and cultural meaning of political attitudes because (1) Political psychology must address politics: power relations between people and (2) Cultural context influences individuals’ attitudes (e.g., Pettigrew, 1958; Schwartz & Bardi, 1997). By examining the political meaning of political attitudes both to individuals and for their society, we will show how individual-level and societal-level processes influence each other. We first describe approaches to why people hold political attitudes and consequences of such attitudes. This review illuminates methodological difficulties and important empirical patterns. We then explicate social dominance theory’s analysis of ideologies as legitimizing political attitudes and social policies, and discuss the political and cultural implications of this analysis.
Neuere Ansätze in der Innovationstheorie und der Theorie des Technischen Wandels — Konsequenzen für Eine Industrie- und Technologiepolitik

Versucht man die Wurzeln des Wohlstands der industrialisierten Volkswirtschaften des Westens zu bestimmen, so findet man im engeren Kreis der Wachstumsdeterminanten ohne Zweifel die Faktoren Technologie, technischer Fortschritt, Produktivitat und Strukturwandel. Sich das tagliche moderne Leben ohne Technologie vorzustellen, ist nahezu unmoglich. Vor der Jahrhundertwende noch wurde das Wirtschaftswachstum hauptsachlich durch den Mehreinsatz der Inputfaktoren Kapital und Arbeit (Solow-Wachstum) und durch eine intensivere Arbeitsteilung auf nationaler wie auch internationaler Ebene (Smith-Wachstum) gespeist. Heutzutage hingegen zeichnen zu einem Grosteil die beinahe unendlichen Moglichkeiten des technischen Fortschritts fur die Wohlstandsentwicklung von Gesellschaften verantwortlich (Schumpeter-Wachstum).
Topological Aspects of QFT: Monopoles, Skirmions, Strings and All That

The following discussions were in response to three lectures on the general subject of anomalies in quantum field theories. The first lecture reviewed the well-known results on the chiral and gauge anomalies in general dimensions, the anomaly descent equations which allow one to derive the gauge anomaly in 2n dimensions from the chiral anomaly in 2n + 2 dimensions. A simple “physical” interpretation of the gauge anomaly in terms of motion of the Dirac sea under the adiabatic changes in external gauge fields was also presented. The second lecture was devoted to a “physical” interpretation of the anomaly descent equations in terms of phenomena occurring in the presence of an axion string and a charged fermion which gets its mass from the axion. The key phenomenon is that in the presence of an electric field, the 3+1 dimensional chiral anomaly legislates a “transverse Hall current” inflow of charge which accumulates on the string — i.e., a gauge anomaly in the 1+1 dimensional world of the string and excitations living on it! The third lecture was devoted to anomalies in scale invariance of two-dimensional non-linear sigma models and their connection with string theory. The basic point is that strings propagating in curved spacetimes are described by sigma models with coupling constants given by the spacetime metric functions G μν (and other massless fields). The condition for consistent string propagation is that the coupling constants be chosen so that the quantum scale invariance anomaly (roughly speaking, the renormalization group beta function) vanish. When evaluated perturbatively, these conditions yield stringy generalizations of the Einstein equations and provide the framework for studying compactification of extra dimensions.
Do Heavier Patients With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Have More Preserved Thoracic Kyphosis and Pulmonary Function

Abstract Study Design Retrospective. Objectives We aimed to determine if heavier patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) had more preserved thoracic kyphosis (TK), and as a result, more preserved pulmonary function. Summary of Background Data Some believe that childhood weight is predictive of adult sagittal plane parameters, with heavier children having greater TK as adults. Generally, thoracic scoliosis is coupled with loss of TK, which is associated with worsening pulmonary function. Methods A total of 142 patients with AIS and a structural main thoracic curve were analyzed. We excluded patients with structural proximal thoracic curves (Lenke 2 and 4). Standing preoperative radiographs, pulmonary function tests, and preoperative body mass indices (BMIs) were reviewed. The main thoracic Cobb angle, T2–T12 TK, percentage predicted forced vital capacity (FVC) and BMI were recorded. Spearman correlation was determined. Linear regression analysis used FVC as the primary outcome and BMI, TK, and Cobb angle as the independent variables. BMI categories were overweight/obese (BMI ≥25) and normal (BMI Results Demonstrated correlations included BMI and FVC (0.37, p ≤.01), FVC and TK (0.26, p Conclusions Heavier AIS patients have greater values of TK and percentage predicted FVC. Level of Evidence Level III.
A genomic ruler to assess oncogenic transition between breast tumor and stroma.

Background Cancers induce gene expression alterations in stroma surrounding tumors that supports cancer progression. However, it is actually not at all known the extent of altered stromal gene expression enacted by tumors nor the extent to which altered stromal gene expression penetrates the stromal tissue. Presently, post-surgical “tumor-free” stromal tissue is determined to be cancer-free based on solely on morphological normality—a criteria that has not changed in more than 100 years despite the existence of sophisticated gene expression data to the contrary. We therefore investigated the extent to which breast tumors alter stromal gene expression in three dimensions in women undergoing mastectomy with the intent of providing a genomic determination for development of future risk of recurrence criteria, and to inform the need for adjuvant full-breast irradiation. Methods and findings Genome-wide gene expression changes were determined in histopathologically normal breast tissue in 33 women undergoing mastectomy for stage II and III primary invasive ductal carcinoma at serial distances in three dimensions from the tumor. Gene expression was determined by genome-wide mRNA analysis and subjected to metagene mRNA characterization. Tumor-like gene expression signatures in stroma were identified that surprisingly transitioned to a plastic, normalizing homeostatic signature with distance from tumor. Stroma closest to tumor displayed a pronounced tumor-like signature enriched in cancer-promoting pathways involved in disruption of basement membrane, cell migration and invasion, WNT signaling and angiogenesis. By 2 cm from tumor in all dimensions, stromal tissues were in transition, displaying homeostatic and tumor suppressing gene activity, while also expressing cancer supporting pathways. Conclusions The dynamics of gene expression in the post-tumor breast stroma likely co-determines disease outcome: reversion to normality or transition to transformation in morphologically normal tissue. Our stromal genomic signature may be important for personalizing surgical and adjuvant therapeutic decisions and risk of recurrence.
Longitudinal associations of depressive symptoms, subjective memory decline, and cognitive functioning among Chinese older adults: Between-person and within-person perspective.

Abstract Objectives We examined between- and within-person associations between depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning among Chinese older adults (aged 60+) over time. Furthermore, we also investigated whether subjective memory decline (SMD) is uniquely associated with cognitive functioning above and beyond depressive symptoms for both between-person and within-person associations. Methods About 7385 older adults from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study reported their demographic and health status, and completed self-report measures of depressive symptoms and SMD, as well as a battery of cognitive tests, every two years at three times between 2011 and 2015. Results There were significant between-person and within-person associations between depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning. Furthermore, SMD was uniquely associated with cognitive functioning for both within-person and between-person associations after controlling for depressive symptoms. Conclusions The results highlight the importance of careful screening and monitoring of depressive symptoms and SMD for the benefits of cognitive functioning among Chinese older adults. More importantly, SMD has practical implications for the care of Chinese older adults given significant cultural stigma attached to mental illness within Chinese culture.
ECTOPIC ADRENOCORTICOTROPIC HORMONE SYNDROME DUE TO METASTATIC PROSTATE CANCER WITH NEUROENDOCRINE DIFFERENTIATION

ABSTRACT Objective: Neuroendocrine differentiation of prostate cancer can result in ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion (EAS) and Cushing syndrome. The aim of this report is to hig...
Intestinal overexpression of IL‐18 promotes eosinophils‐mediated allergic disorders

Baseline eosinophils reside in the gastrointestinal tract; however, in several allergic disorders, excessive eosinophils accumulate in the blood as well in the tissues. Recently, we showed in vitro that interleukin (IL)-18 matures and transforms IL-5-generated eosinophils into the pathogenic eosinophils that are detected in human allergic diseases. To examine the role of local induction of IL-18 in promoting eosinophil-associated intestinal disorders, we generated enterocyte IL-18-overexpressing mice using the rat intestinal fatty acid-binding promoter (Fabpi) and analysed tissue IL-18 overexpression and eosinophilia by performing real-time polymerase chain reaction, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay and anti-major basic protein immunostaining. Herein we show that Fabpi-IL-18 mice display highly induced IL-18 mRNA and protein in the jejunum. IL-18 overexpression in enterocytes promotes marked increases of eosinophils in the blood and jejunum. Our analysis shows IL-18 overexpression in the jejunum induces a specific population of CD101+ CD274+ tissue eosinophils. Additionally, we observed comparable tissue eosinophilia in IL-13-deficient-Fabpi-IL-18 mice, and reduced numbers of tissue eosinophils in eotaxin-deficient-Fabpi-IL-18 and IL-5-deficient-Fabpi-IL-18 mice compared with Fabpi-IL-18 transgenic mice. Notably, jejunum eosinophilia in IL-5-deficient-Fabpi-IL-18 mice is significantly induced compared with wild-type mice, which indicates the direct role of induced IL-18 in the tissue accumulation of eosinophils and mast cells. Furthermore, we also found that overexpression of IL-18 in the intestine promotes eosinophil-associated peanut-induced allergic responses in mice. Taken together, we provide direct in vivo evidence that induced expression of IL-18 in the enterocytes promotes eotaxin-1, IL-5 and IL-13 independent intestinal eosinophilia, which signifies the clinical relevance of induced IL-18 in eosinophil-associated gastrointestinal disorders (EGIDs) to food allergens.
Salmonella in Poultry Meat Production

Salmonella is a major threat to human public health since it causes several foodborne outbreaks in the USA and worldwide. Poultry harbor Salmonella in their gastrointestinal tract and excrete the pathogen through the feces contaminating the environment. In addition, there are several sources of the pathogen at the farms and processing facilities. Until humans contract the infection by consuming contaminated poultry products, Salmonella must overcome several hurdles, including methods of control applied at the farm and processing facilities. Even after the adoption of intervention techniques at multiple levels, Salmonella still contaminates the poultry meat supply. In this chapter, we discuss Salmonella as a major pathogen transmitted through live poultry and poultry meat, a brief overview of different poultry-associated Salmonella serovars, including the familiar and the emerging, and various sources of contamination on farm and processing facilities. This information will help the industry to design and/or revisit the plans before appropriate intervention strategies are applied to control Salmonella in the poultry farms and processing environment in a highly automated vertically integrated production system.
Hepatitis C eradication with direct-acting anti-virals reduces the risk of variceal bleeding.

Background The real-world, long-term benefits of sustained virologic response (SVR) on the risk of variceal bleeding remain unclear. Aim To assess the association between DAA-induced SVR and post-treatment variceal bleeding METHODS: We identified patients who initiated DAA-only anti-viral treatments in the United States Veterans Affairs healthcare system from 2013 to 2015. We followed patients until 1 January 2019 for the development of gastro-oesophageal variceal bleeding defined by diagnostic codes. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to assess the association between SVR and development of variceal bleeding, adjusting for potential confounders. Results Among 33 582 DAA-treated patients, 549 (1.6%) developed variceal bleeding after treatment (mean follow-up 3.1 years). Compared to no SVR, SVR was associated with a significantly lower incidence of variceal bleeding among all patients (0.46 vs 1.26 per 100 patient-years, adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] 0.66, 95% CI 0.52-0.83), among patients with pre-treatment cirrhosis (1.55 vs 2.96 per 100 patient-years, AHR 0.73, 95% CI 0.57-0.93) and among patients without pre-treatment cirrhosis (0.07 vs 0.29 per 100 patient-years, AHR 0.33, 95% CI 0.17-0.65). The risk of variceal bleeding after treatment was lower in those who achieved SVR vs no SVR among patients who had non-bleeding varices (3.5 vs 4.9 per 100 patient-years) or bleeding varices (12.9 vs 16.4 per 100 patient-years) diagnosed before treatment, but these differences were not statistically significant in adjusted analyses. Conclusion DAA-induced SVR is independently associated with a lower risk of variceal bleeding during long-term follow-up in patients with and without pre-treatment cirrhosis. These findings demonstrate an important real-world benefit of DAA treatment.
Age-related Macular Degeneration: Nutrition, Genes and Deep Learning-The LXXVI Edward Jackson Memorial Lecture.

Purpose To evaluate the importance of nutritional supplements, dietary pattern, and genetic associations in age-related macular degeneration (AMD); and to discuss the technique of artificial intelligence/deep learning to potentially enhance research in detecting and classifying AMD. Design Retrospective literature review. Methods To review the studies of both prospective and retrospective (post hoc) analyses of nutrition, genetic variants, and deep learning in AMD in both the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) and AREDS2. Results In addition to demonstrating the beneficial effects of the AREDS and AREDS2 supplements of antioxidant vitamins and zinc (plus copper) for reducing the risk of progression to late AMD, these 2 studies also confirmed the importance of high adherence to Mediterranean diet in reducing progression of AMD in persons with varying severity of disease. In persons with the protective genetic alleles of complement factor H (CFH), the Mediterranean diet had further beneficial effect. However, despite the genetic association with AMD progression, prediction models found genetic information added little to the high predictive value of baseline severity of AMD for disease progression. The technique of deep learning, an arm of artificial intelligence, using color fundus photographs from AREDS/AREDS2 was superior in some cases and noninferior in others to clinical human grading (retinal specialists) and to the gold standard of the certified reading center graders. Conclusions Counseling individuals affected with AMD regarding the use of the AREDS2 supplements and the beneficial association of the Mediterranean diet is an important public health message. Although genetic testing is important in research, it is not recommended for prediction of disease or to guide therapies and/or dietary interventions in AMD. Techniques in deep learning hold great promise, but further prospective research is required to validate the use of this technique to provide improvement in accuracy and sensitivity/specificity in clinical research and medical management of patients with AMD.
Assessing species number and genetic diversity of the Mountainsnails (Oreohelicidae)

One of the current challenges facing conservation biologists is a lack of resolution of species boundaries in threatened groups residing in at-risk areas. This is particularly key for habitats like calcareous outcrops that are known to harbor a high degree of endemic species that may also possess extensive morphological variation. Here, we construct the first time-calibrated phylogeny and evaluate species number of the limestone endemic Mountainsnails (Oreohelicidae), a highly-threatened and phenotypically variable family of land snails from Western North America, using sequence fragments of the mitochondrial gene Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) from 50 recognized taxonomic species and subspecies. We found four highly supported clades that span wide geographic areas from southern Canada to northern Mexico. Using three species delimitation approaches, we identified a largely concordant set of 16 putative species, which represents less than a third the expected number of species given the current taxonomy and our dataset composition. Our results reveal that this is largely a result of two of the delimitation approaches lumping much of the taxonomic diversity of Oreohelicidae into a single species that possesses remarkable shell form variation and convergence. Moreover, we discuss the suitability of these approaches to delimiting clades with recent divergence, which is not uncommon for limestone endemic fauna and flora. To improve management decisions in montane limestone endemics, our research highlights the need for increased molecular and ecological studies of these isolated and phenotypically variable species.
Management of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

This review focuses on the therapeutic management and individualized approach to Group 1 pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), utilizing Food and Drug Administration-approved PAH-specific therapies and various interventional and surgical options for PAH. The paradigm for the optimal management of PAH has shifted in recent years. Upfront combination therapy with an endothelin receptor antagonist and a phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor is now widely accepted as standard of care. In addition, there is increasing emphasis on starting prostanoids early in order to delay time to clinical worsening. However, less is known regarding which prostanoid agent to initiate and the optimum time to do so. In order to facilitate shared decision-making, there is an increasing need for decision tools based on guidelines and collective clinical experiences to navigate between pharmacologic and interventional treatments, as well as explore innovative, therapeutic pathways for PAH. The management of PAH has become increasingly complex. With a growing number of PAH-specific therapies, intimate knowledge of the therapeutics and the potential barriers to adherence are integral to providing optimal care for this high-risk patient population. While current PAH-specific therapies largely mediate their effects through pulmonary vasodilation, ongoing research efforts are focused on ways to disrupt the mechanisms leading to pulmonary vascular remodeling. By targeting aberrations identified in the metabolism and proliferative state of pulmonary vascular cells, novel PAH treatment pathways may be just on the horizon.
Timeless: Nature’s Formula for Health and Longevity: by Louis Cozolino, New York, NY, Independent Publishers, 2018, 270 pp., $11.59 (softcover), ISBN 978-0-393-71325-1

In Timeless: Nature’s Formula for Health and Longevity, Cozolino challenges the common thought that the aging brain is destined to decline and provides the evidence to prove the fallacy of this tho...
Measuring Ovarian Escape in Premenopausal Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Patients on Ovarian Suppression Therapy

PURPOSE This study evaluated the proportion of premenopausal women who experience persistent ovarian escape (OE) while receiving ovarian suppression (OS) therapy for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer treatment. The study also examined clinical factors that may predispose to higher risk of persistent OE. MATERIALS AND METHODS This was a retrospective, "real-world" study to evaluate premenopausal women receiving adjuvant endocrine OS therapy. The primary objective was to measure the percentage of persistent OE within the first 3 months of OS injections (using either leuprolide or goserelin). The secondary objective was to associate baseline clinical data (age, body mass index [BMI], and previous chemotherapy) with the probability of OE. RESULTS Of the 46 patients included in this analysis, 11 (23.9%) women did not achieve OS within 3 months. Three women (6.5%) remained in OE at 12 months. Older age (odds ratio, 0.86; confidence interval, 0.76-0.98, p = .024) was associated with lower chance of developing OE. BMI, previous chemotherapy, and drug used (tamoxifen versus aromatase inhibitor) did not correlate with the likelihood of OE in this patient cohort. CONCLUSION Among the premenopausal women who did not attain complete ovarian suppression, young age was a significant risk factor for likelihood of OE. Although the clinical relevance of this finding is not yet known, it should prompt further studies to determine whether inadequate OS is associated with higher recurrence risk for patients with ER+ breast cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Because up to a quarter of premenopausal women do not attain adequate ovarian suppression within the first 3 months of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy, bloodwork should be checked to ascertain hormone levels prior to starting aromatase inhibitor therapy, and at regular intervals, for these women.
Early Life-History Dynamics of Caribbean Octocorals: The Critical Role of Larval Supply and Partial Mortality

Recruitment is a key demographic process influencing the dynamics of local populations and recovery following disturbance. For colonial marine benthic taxa, spatial and temporal heterogeneity of recruit distributions is influenced by variation in larval supply, settlement rate and post-settlement survival. Differences in post-settlement survival between the single individuals that initially settle and the small colonies they rapidly develop into, affects recruitment patterns, and studies assessing this ecological process that do not incorporate these different astogenetic stages provide an incomplete understanding of early life-history events. We studied octocoral recruitment dynamics and assessed the roles of pre-settlement, settlement and post-settlement processes in driving recruitment, and distinguished processes occurring to single-polyps and to colonial recruits. We combined fine-scale temporal observations of settlers, with experiments on settlement tiles, and we followed the fates of colonial recruits with different morphological traits for 3 years. We found that the major contributor to single-polyp recruit densities, and ultimately to colonial recruit densities, was larval supply. Single-polyp recruitment was not limited by the availability of free space, settlement cues, or early post-settlement survival. Height was the only predictor of survival and growth after single polyps develop into colonies. Potential growth rates increased with recruit height, but large recruits often suffered partial mortality, distorting the relationship between recruit age and size, and causing most recruits to remain in the recruit size class (≤ 5 cm) longer than a year. Octocorals have been resilient to the conditions that have driven the decline of scleractinian corals throughout the Caribbean, and recruitment has been a key to that success. Our results are crucial to understand early-life history dynamics of Caribbean octocorals, and highlights the need to standardize the definition of recruit among colonial and modular taxa to facilitate inter-specific comparisons, avoid bias in the assessment of population growth, and understand changes in coral reef community assemblages.
Trace metals and metalloids and Ga/Al ratios in grey shale weathering profiles along a climate gradient and in batch reactors

Abstract Shale is an important lithology globally due to its wide spatial abundance and potentially high trace metal and metalloid (TMM) geochemistry, which can be potentially inherited by its overlying soils. Unlike other soils, shale-derived soils inherit organic matter and oxides (Fe and Mn) which promote accumulation and retention of both geogenic and exogeneous TMMs. Here, we explore TMMs in seven grey shales weathering profiles along a north–south transect spanning the western flank of the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Tennessee. Overall, total TMM concentrations in the grey shales and their soils were below concentrations known to be toxic and below concentrations observed in black shales. Tau values show that shale-derived soils are net accumulators of many TMMs (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn) but others (Cr, W, and V) showed a net depletion. Many of the TMMs had high proportions (5–50%) that were sequestered in reducible phases (amorphous and crystalline Fe oxides) but few TMMs were associated with oxidizable phases (organic matter, reduced minerals). Sulfides and oxides (Mn nor Fe) were not detected by X-ray diffraction (
Fault-Tolerant Toque Control of a Four-Wheeled Redundantly-Actuated Mobile Robot

Four-wheeled redundantly-actuated mobile robot (FRMR) has been widely accepted in the industrial field due to its excellent tracking performance and working efficiency. The coordination distribution of the four driving motors is crucial for stabilizing the lateral motion of the FRMR. Given this context, based on model predictive mechanism, a fault-tolerant toque control method is presented here. First, we construct an integrated control method with torque distribution. Then, a constrained objective function is designed to coordinately regulate the torque of in-wheel motors subject to actuator faults. Finally, several comparative simulation experiments are carried out to demonstrate the validity and stability aspects of the presented fault-tolerant torque regulation method.
EXPRESS: Cruel optimism as organizing strategy in USA Gymnastics: The threat of high stakes organizations in precarious times

In January of 2018, after decades of sexual abuse of hundreds of athletes under his medical care, Larry Nassar faced 156 of the women he victimized when they testified at his sentencing hearing and...
KIN10/11 Are Master Regulators of the Convergent Stress Transcriptome

Different types of stress result in both specific and convergent responses that modulate plant growth and development. The elucidation of common regulatory nodes may provide insight into the functional basis of stress tolerance and cross-protection. Large-scale generation and comparison of microarray data has recently revealed that part of the cross-talk among the various stress response pathways occurs at the gene expression level, with diverse types of stress triggering overlapping transcriptional responses. We have identified Arabidopsis KIN10 and KIN11 as central regulators of the convergent stress transcriptome. Sensing and signaling stress-associated energy deprivation, these protein kinases (PKs) trigger global gene expression reprogramming, enabling the adjustment of energy homeostasis necessary for coping with stress. The remarkably broad transcriptional program promotes catabolism and autophagy, and suppresses anabolism and ribosome biogenesis. Significantly, KIN10/11 also target a plethora of transcriptional and signaling regulators to orchestrate global responses beyond metabolic regulation. Analyses of gain- and loss-of-function mutants uncover the picture that KIN10/11 are central regulators for the integration of metabolic, environmental and hormonal cues during plant growth and development.
Abstract P4-04-09: Mesenchymal stem cells and macrophage interactions promote inflammatory breast cancer cell invasion and self renewal

Background: Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) is responsible for 10% of breast cancer deaths. The hallmarks of IBC are skin involvement and a high propensity to metastasize. Our lab has shown previously, "normal" breast tissue from women with an IBC diagnosis had significantly greater macrophage infiltration and increased cells with stem cell markers compared to non IBC "normal" breast tissue. These changes were present prior to diagnosis in two patients where pre-IBC biopsies were available. Therefore, we hypothesized changes in the normal breast microenvironment prior to tumor formation contributes to the IBC phenotype. Methods: To study our hypothesis we used a co-culture system to measure the interactions between normal macrophages (Raw 264.7 cell line), bone-marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and IBC cells (SUM 149, IBC3, and KPL4). Conditioned media (CM) from MSC culture was added to macrophages overnight. The macrophages were subsequently analyzed for their surface markers and cytokine production. Reciprocally, MSCs were "educated" by macrophages by adding CM from polarized M2 macrophages to the MSC culture media at a 1:1 ratio. MSCs and cancer cells were co-cultured in trans-wells (Boyden chambers) for 24 hours. Migration and invasion in vitro was determined by adding MSCs or IBC cells to the insert of the trans-well and cultured in combination with either polarized macrophages or macrophage educated MSCs for 24 hours. After co-culture, IBC cells were analyzed for their ability to form mammospheres. Results: Mouse macrophages polarized (using IL-4) into a M2 phenotype (Tumor associated macrophage) secreted 3 fold more IL-6 compared to unstimulated or M1 polarized macrophages. The addition of MSC CM to the macrophage culture for 24 hours polarized the macrophages into a similar M2 phenotype described above with 4-fold increase in IL-6 secretion compared to unstimulated macrophages (P Conclusions: Herein we demonstrate reciprocal tumor interactions between normal cells in the IBC microenvironment. MSC and macrophages can influence each other to increase the tumor promoting influence of each on IBC cells. Our results suggest IL-6 a mediator of these tumor promoting influences and is important for the IBC induced migration of MSCs. Currently we are investigating the in vivo interactions between macrophages and MSCs in an orthotopic IBC mouse model. Citation Format: Adam R Wolfe, Rachel Atkinson, Bisrat G Debeb, Yan Zhang, Brian Ruffel, James M Reuben, Naoto T Ueno, Wendy A Woodward. Mesenchymal stem cells and macrophage interactions promote inflammatory breast cancer cell invasion and self renewal [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-04-09.
The political skill and will of expatriates in acculturating to the politics of an organization in a new culture

Abstract This paper explores and conceptualizes the process through which expatriates acculturate to the politics of an organization in a new and dominant culture that differs from their origin culture. In addition to an overview of acculturation, we review research on the emergence and perception of political context in organizations, and on political skill and political will. We posit that politically-relevant situational characteristics in organizations and work interact with national culture to affect the intensity with which expatriates perceive politics in their organization. Based on their political skill (operationalized as high versus low) and their political will (operationalized in terms of concern for self versus concern for others), we describe the different political behavior expatriates will use as a means of acculturating to their political context and the effects those strategies have on their acculturative stress and individual effectiveness in the organization.
Quantum Criticality: More Detailed Information

This chapter contains a number of short notes expanding details mentioned in the previous chapter.
Management of catheter-associated upper extremity deep venous thrombosis

Central venous catheters or peripherally inserted central catheters are major risk factors for upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (UEDVT). The body and quality of literature evaluating catheter-associated (CA) UEDVT have increased, yet strong evidence on screening, diagnosis, prevention, and optimal treatment is limited. We herein review the current evidence of CA UEDVT that can be applied clinically. Principally, we review the anatomy and definition of CA UEDVT, identification of risk factors, utility of duplex ultrasound as the preferred diagnostic modality, preventive strategies, and an algorithm for management of CA UEDVT.
Diphtheria Toxin and Related Proteins II. KINETIC STUDIES ON INTOXICATION OF HELA CELLS BY DIPHTHERIA TOXIN AND RELATED PROTEINS

Abstract The kinetic data of entry of Fragment A from diphtheria toxin and Fragment A176 derived from the serologically related protein of reduced toxicity, cross-reacting material 176, across the living HeLa cell membrane have been studied by following the rate of inactivation of the HeLa cell protein-synthesizing system. Similar kinetic studies have been carried out on the competition between toxin and the two nontoxic, serologically related proteins, cross-reacting materials 197 and 228. It is suggested that there are entry sites on the HeLa cell membrane that specifically interact with the Fragment B part of the molecule. It is concluded that Fragment A from toxin and related mutant proteins is crossing the cell membrane continuously to reach a steady state level in which the rate of entry is balanced by the rate of degradation in the cytoplasm. A maximum intracellular level is reached when all of the entry sites become saturated. Saturation of sites is approached at toxin concentrations of 5 x 10-7 m or higher.
Quantitative studies in fetal electrocardiography

Mean values are reported for the primary data in fetal electrocardiographic investigation of 2,028 cases plus associated data for fetus and for mother. Statistical comparison for singles and for twins shows that the feal ECC components are in general smaller in amplitude for twins. It is shown that the maternal systolic blood pressure is higher in mothers bearing twins and that all diagnostic criteria used, including fetal ECC and heart rate criteria, reflect the greater problems of the twin fetus. It is shown that a sex difference exists in fetal ECC values; in the case of the female fetus, the peak-to-peak amplitude of the fetal complex, the fetal R wave, and the new born RII wave all being significantly larger than those for the male. The newborn S wave is larger in the male. Comparable differences are observed in electrical axis values.
Property Creation by Regulation: Rights to Clean Air and Rights to Pollute

This paper, prepared for a Lincoln Institute conference on "Evolution of Property Rights Related to Land and Natural Resources," and the forthcoming book Property in Land and Other Resources (D.H. Cole and E.Ostrom, eds, forthcoming 2011, Lincoln Institute), argues that, contrary to both the suppositions of some legal scholars and the theoretical underpinnings of Regulatory Takings doctrine, government regulations do not only impose on existing private property rights but also vindicate, and sometimes even create, public, private, and/or common property rights. After examining conflicting common law and Roman law rules relating to property rights in the atmosphere, the paper focuses on how assertions of state sovereignty and regulations combine to create Hohfeldian rights and duties respecting the atmosphere, where none previously existed or were unclear. An explicit (but hardly novel) claim is advanced that acts of sovereignty themselves amount to assertions of public property. The claim is supported by evidence from both civil aviation regulation and air pollution control. The paper also addresses how regulations have created private property rights to pollute in emissions trading programs (regardless of congressional assertions to the contrary). In some cases, assertions of public property via acts of sovereignty are a prerequisite to the allocation of private property rights, and not just in the atmosphere but in other natural resources, such as marine fisheries. The paper concludes with a discussion of normative implications for property theory generally and Regulatory Takings doctrine in particular. A more dignified treatment of public regulations that are designed to protect public rights would raise a serious question about which set of property rights should prevail in the several Regulatory Takings cases where privately-owned lands meet publicly-owned waters. That question cannot, however, be answered reasonably until a theory (or multiple theories) of public property are better developed to complement existing theories of private and common property. So, the paper ends with a call for more research into the theory and empirics of res publica (beyond equally naive public interest and public choice models).