cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pesticide exposure and end-stage renal disease risk among wives of pesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study.

Abstract Background Pesticide exposure has been found to cause renal damage and dysfunction in experimental studies, but epidemiological research on the renal effects of chronic low-level pesticide exposure is limited. We investigated the relationships between end-stage renal disease (ESRD) among wives of licensed pesticide applicators (N=31,142) in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS) and (1) personal pesticide use, (2) exposure to the husband's pesticide use, and (3) other pesticide-associated farming and household activities. Methods AHS participants reported pesticide exposure via self-administered questionnaires at enrollment (1993–1997). ESRD cases were identified via linkage to the United States Renal Data System. Associations between ESRD and pesticide exposures were estimated with Cox proportional hazard regression models controlling for age at enrollment. Models of associations with farming and household factors were additionally adjusted for personal use of pesticides. Results We identified 98 ESRD cases diagnosed between enrollment and 31 December 2011. Although women who ever applied pesticides (56% of cohort) were less likely than those who did not apply to develop ESRD (Hazard Ratio (HR): 0.42; 95% CI: 0.28, 0.64), among women who did apply pesticides, the rate of ESRD was significantly elevated among those who reported the highest (vs. lowest) cumulative general pesticide use (HR: 4.22; 95% CI: 1.26, 14.20). Among wives who never applied pesticides, ESRD was associated with husbands' ever use of paraquat (HR=1.99; 95% CI: 1.14, 3.47) and butylate (HR=1.71; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.95), with a positive exposure–response pattern for husband’s cumulative use of these pesticides. Conclusions ESRD may be associated with direct and/or indirect exposure to pesticides among farm women. Future studies should evaluate indirect exposure risk among other rural populations.
The Chinese Cult of Defense

The People s Republic of China (PRC) has been identified as a looming strategic threat. Considerable attention has been given to China’s assertive rhetoric and militant behavior. Being has been depicted as increasingly belligerent over the past decade, a perception in direct conflict with earlier images of China. Ancient China usually is portrayed as possessing a weak martial tradition, a cultural predisposition to seek nonviolent solutions to problems of statecraft, and a defensive-mindedness, favoring sturdy fortifications over expansionism and invasion. Hence the question: Is China a peaceful, defensive-minded power or a bellicose, expansionist state? Has China become more belligerent in recent years? How can contemporary depictions of a bellicose China be reconciled with earlier portrayals of a dominant pacifist tradition? This article contends that existing depictions of China’s strategic culture are flawed. China’s strategic disposition cannot accurately be characterized as either pacifist or bellicose. The country rather has a dualistic strategic culture. The two main strands are a Confucian-Mencian one, which can be described as conflict-averse and defensive-minded, and a Realpolitik one, which can be described as favoring military solutions and being offensive-oriented. Both strands are operative and both influence and combine in dialectic fashion to produce a “Chinese Cult of Defense.” This cult paradoxically predisposes Chinese leaders to pursue offensive military operations as a primary alternative in pursuit of national goals, while rationalizing these actions as being purely defensive and last resort. This dualistic strategic culture has been a constant, and China has not become more bellicose or aggressive in recent years except to the extent that the warfighting capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have improved and that military doctrine has changed..
Remedying and preventing endodontic rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) file breakage.

Abstract Of all the procedural problems that can occur when practicing dentistry, endodontic file breakage is one dilemma that not only can lead to extreme stress for the clinician, but can cause great anxiety for the patient as well. Separated rotary nickel-titanium (NiTi) files can also pose an increased risk of post-endodontic complications. Understanding why and how endodontic file breakage occurs, including the two main factors that contribute to this type of incident, can help clinicians employ prevention strategies and overcome this predicament if it does occur. The purpose of this article is to discuss the causes of separated endodontic rotary NiTi files, explain how to prevent this problem from happening, describe the removal of a broken file, and discuss the prognosis for instances where the separated file cannot be removed.
Modeling Income in the Near Term 5

This report describes the work the Urban Institute performed to generate the Model of Income in the Near Term, Version 5 (MINT5). MINT is a tool developed for The Division of Policy Evaluation (DPE) of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to analyze the distributional consequences of Social Security reform proposals. MINT is a micro-level data file of individuals born between 1926 and 2018. It starts with a rich set of income and demographic characteristics from the 1990 to 1996 Survey of Income and Program Particpation (SIPP) data linked to SSA data on earnings and benefits. MINT then projects these characteristics until death or the year 2099.
Model behavior of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: predicting soil carbon dynamics under climate change1

In this commentary, I advocate for more detailed incorporation of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in Earth system models, to improve our projections of global climate change. Current Earth system...
Understanding the Role of Yellowstone Lake in the Prehistory of Interior Northwestern North America

As North America's largest, high-elevation lake, Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, played an important role in the lifeways of Great Plains, Great Basin, and Rocky Mountains Native Americans during prehistory. Various hypotheses suggest that the lake was important during the spring for fishing, during the winter for hunting, and/or during warm months for generalized foraging. Because the lake's islands contain archaeological sites, some also have proposed that boats were utilized during prehistory at the lake. Using ethnohistoric, archaeological, and spatial data, we evaluate these suppositions about use of Yellowstone Lake. We suggest that annual use of the lake was initiated in early spring when the lake was frozen providing access to islands and continued through the summer. Lithic data and ethnohistoric research support the hypothesis that multiple ethnic groups used the lake in prehistory because it is a concentrated resource area.
Natural History of the Bannertail Kangaroo Rat in New Mexico

The Santa Fe Field Station was established in July 1951 by the Communicable Disease Center to study the biological relationships of mammals and their ectoparasites to the spread and perpetuation of sylvatic plague. A general description to give an integrated view of the area, methods of study, species of mammals investigated, and most frequently collected species of fleas has been prepared by Holdenried and Morlan (1956). The present report gives detailed observations on the natural history of a single rodent species. The information is submitted in the hope that some of the facts may contribute to eventual understanding of the complex factors involved in dissemination of rodent-borne diseases. Characters distinguishing the bannertail kangaroo rat, Dipodomys spectabilis baileyi Goldman, from other rodents include large muscular hind legs and large hind feet used for bipedal locomotion, small weak front legs and feet used mainly for manipulating food, a long tail with a white tuft 50 to 70 mm. long, a broad head with short rounded ears on a short neck, and hair-lined cheek pouches. This rat, well adapted to semiarid grassland climate, prospers on a diet of dry seeds (Schmidt-Nielsen, 1950) which can only irregularly and at long intervals be supplemented with food containing free water. A satisfactory water balance is maintained through excretion of minimal amounts of water in urine and feces and engaging in above-ground activities at night while the temperatures are lowest and air humidities are highest. In the hottest, driest period of the day the rat remains in its cooler, more humid burrow where water evaporation through breathing is reduced. The bannertail kangaroo rats at Santa Fe occupy the flatter open grassland portions of the arid Upper Sonoran Life Zone up to about 7,000 feet above sea level. Avoided are the pinon pine-juniper forest though ridges and …
Detection of coronavirus infection of man by immunofluorescence.

SummaryAn indirect fluorescent antibody technique has been developed for use with coronaviruses 229E and OC43. For the former virus, WI-38 cells were used as the host system, and for the latter LLC-MK2 cells were employed. Human serum pairs which were known to show a rise in antibody titer by other serologic techniques were tested by the FA method. Comparison of results obtained by different procedures showed that FA was specific and would be a useful addition to available methods for identifying infection serologically.
Abstract B172: Oncogene-mediated immune microenvironments in lung cancer provide a rationale for combination therapies

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) constitutes ~80% of all lung cancer cases and has a 5-year survival rate of only 15-20%. Over the past decade, targeted therapies have shown some efficacy in NSCLC patients who present drug sensitive mutations. However, acquired drug resistance has been a major obstacle to achieving durable responses. Novel and more effective combinatorial treatments are urgently needed in the clinic to improve the dismal prognosis of NSCLC patients. Recently, immune checkpoint inhibitors have led to durable response rates in NSCLC patients of up to 25%, but a large portion of patients continue to show minimal or no response. Notably, the mechanisms responsible for regulating the tumor9s response to immune checkpoint inhibitors have not been elucidated. There is increasing evidence that oncogenes modulate expression of immune regulatory genes, leading to the notion that therapies that target specific oncogene pathways may influence diverse aspects of the immune response. To this end, we have focused on mouse models of NSCLC carrying mutations in the KRAS or EGFR oncogenes or the EML4-ALK translocation. These mutations were chosen because 1) together they account for >40% of the NSCLC patients and 2) FDA approved targeted therapies are available for EML4-ALK and EGFR mutants. We have performed comprehensive immunophenotyping in each of these models and observed mutation-specific distribution and abundance of specific immune subsets, suggesting diverse mechanisms and varying degrees of immune invasion/exclusion. These findings have predictive value in determining which tumor has the most likelihood of responding to specific immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1 or anti-CTLA4). We will discuss the implication of this approach in improving response rates to other standard of care treatments such as targeted therapies, radiation and/or chemotherapy in combination with the checkpoint inhibitors. Overall, this work has the potential to provide a mechanism-based rationale for combining standard of care treatments and immunotherapies for the treatment of NSCLC. Citation Format: Lauren S. Havel, Dingcheng Gao, Nasser Altorki, Vivek Mittal. Oncogene-mediated immune microenvironments in lung cancer provide a rationale for combination therapies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival; September 16-19, 2015; New York, NY. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Immunol Res 2016;4(1 Suppl):Abstract nr B172.
Are Forensic Experts Already Biased before Adversarial Legal Parties Hire Them

This survey of 206 forensic psychologists tested the “filtering” effects of preexisting expert attitudes in adversarial proceedings. Results confirmed the hypothesis that evaluator attitudes toward capital punishment influence willingness to accept capital case referrals from particular adversarial parties. Stronger death penalty opposition was associated with higher willingness to conduct evaluations for the defense and higher likelihood of rejecting referrals from all sources. Conversely, stronger support was associated with higher willingness to be involved in capital cases generally, regardless of referral source. The findings raise the specter of skewed evaluator involvement in capital evaluations, where evaluators willing to do capital casework may have stronger capital punishment support than evaluators who opt out, and evaluators with strong opposition may work selectively for the defense. The results may provide a partial explanation for the “allegiance effect” in adversarial legal settings such that preexisting attitudes may contribute to partisan participation through a self-selection process.
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome after pediatric heart transplantation: Increased risk for children with preexisting Glenn/Fontan physiology

Identification of risk factors for PRES after organ transplant can improve early detection and avoid permanent neurological injury. High calcineurin-inhibitor levels and hypertension are recognized risk factors for PRES in adult transplant recipients. Limited data exist regarding PRES after pediatric HTx, with studies limited to case reports. We performed a retrospective review of 128 pediatric HTx recipients to identify risk factors for PRES. Seven of 128 (5.5%) recipients developed PRES at a median of 10 days (5-57) after HTx. The median age of recipients with PRES was 10.0 yr (5.7-19.0), compared to 1.4 yr (0.0-19.8) for recipients without PRES (p = 0.010). Fewer than half of recipients with PRES had elevated post-transplant calcineurin-inhibitor levels (n = 3) and/or preceding severe hypertension (n = 3). Four of seven who developed PRES (57%) had pretransplant Glenn or Fontan physiology (G/F). G/F was a significant risk factor for PRES (RR 4.99, 95% CI: 1.19-21.0, p = 0.036). Two recipients (29%), both with severe PRES, had residual neurological symptoms. In summary, PRES occurred in 5.5% of pediatric HTx recipients and presented early after HTx. All recipients with PRES were > 5 yr. Patients with pretransplant G/F were at increased risk, a risks factor not previously described.
Design and Implementation of Autonomous Decentralized Multidimensional Power System Weak Link Tracking and Analysing System

The multidimensional weak link tracking and analysing software for power system is designed.Firstly,the overall design idea based on the autonomous decentralized model is described and the control logic based on time check and data driven is designed.Then,the hierarchical decoupling management framework is presented,while the functional modules are designed and managed using standardized interface.Finally,the multidimensional weak link tracking and analysing system is established using the design scheme presented.Case studies have verified the good adaptability of the designed system to the diversity of the weak link definition,weak link analytical methods,data sources and result display ways.
Feature Difference Index Analysis on Frequency Response Fingerprint of Transformer Windings

Frequency response analysis is an important method to detect transformer winding deformation.Experienced professionals can judge the winding deformation accurately by analyzing feature differences of transformer wingding frequency response fingerprint.Based on main points of experience,a new method to quantitatively analyze feature differences of frequency response fingerprint is proposed.Firstly,the amplitude difference is represented by amplitude difference index and the frequency difference is represented by frequency difference index;secondly,the feature difference indices are calculated by amplitude difference index and frequency difference index respectively;finally,transformer winding deformation can be judged through the feature difference indices.Verification results of more than 500 sets of diagnostic data show that the proposed method is evidently better than existing quantitative analysis method,and high judging accuracy can be attained.
Cortical Dysgenesis and Infantile Spasms: PET Studies

The identification of focal cortical dysgenesis by positron emission tomography (PET) in 5 of 13 children with cryptogenic infantile spasms is reported from the Departments of Neurology and Pediatrics and Division of Neurosurgery, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA.
Structure and morphology of stainless steel coatings sputter-deposited in a nitrogen/argon atmosphere

Abstract Reactive magnetron sputtering was used to deposit coatings from a 304 stainless steel target (nominal composition 18%Cr, 8% Ni, balance Fe). Deposition was carried out in a mixed argon/nitrogen atmosphere with Ar:N 2 ratios of 4, 1.5 and 1, and a total gas flow of 25 sccm for all cases. Substrate temperatures ranged from 150 to 600 °C, along with substrate bias levels from − 100 V to − 140 V. X-ray diffraction analyses showed the structure of the coatings were strongly temperature dependent: above 450 °C, the films were a mixture of CrN, bcc-Fe and Ni; below 450 °C the S-phase (a N-supersaturated fcc structure) was observed. While this structure is nominally cubic, the commonly observed anomaly of ( hkl )-dependent lattice constants, where a 200 > a 111 , was also found in the present study. Area-detector based X-ray diffraction studies, which allowed peak position measurements as a function of the inclination of the diffraction vector (angle ψ), showed a 200 declined with increasing ψ, but always remained greater than a 111 , which was relatively constant with ψ. SEM cross-sections for samples deposited below 450 °C had discontinuous, angular crystallites, whereas at higher substrate temperatures the structure had the appearance of a loose particle aggregate. At higher nitrogen has concentrations (Ar:N 2 of 1:1) a more typical columnar structure was found. Hardness testing gave values between 450 and 1968 kg/mm 2 , with higher bias, temperatures and N 2 gas concentrations promoting higher hardness levels.
Color-coating production scheduling in the steel industry

This paper proposes a new integer programming model and a tabu search heuristics for large-scale scheduling in the iron and steel industry, called color-coating production scheduling (CCPS). The results obtained from real production instances show that the model and heuristics are more effective and efficient with comparison to the manual scheduling
Predicting climate change impacts on southern pines productivity in SE United States using physiological process based model 3-PG

T are approximately 82 million ha of timberland and more than 13 million ha of southern pine plantations in the southeastern United States. In this region, slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelm. var. elliottii) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) are the most important species, accounting for more than 90% of the planted seedlings in the US. The physiological-process based model, 3-PG (physiological process predicting growth), has been widely applied to estimate the effects of management, climate and site characteristics on different stand level attributes such as stem volume growth, biomass dynamics or water use efficiency. This model uses species-specific physiological traits in conjunction with empirical treeand stand-level dynamics attributes to quantify stand growth and dynamics. Recently, the model was parameterized for loblolly and slash pine stands. The model was validated against a large number studies and operational plots across the natural range of distribution of both species. In this study, we used the model to estimate the impact of future climate change scenarios (using RCP 4.5 and 8.5) on stand dynamics and productivity in SE United States.
Dual Face of Immune Microenvironment in Myeloma

An important property of human multiple myeloma (MM) is the growth of tumor cells and their precursors in the bone marrow microenvironment. This specialized microenvironment includes a distinct component of immune cells that includes cells of innate as well as adaptive immune system. Growing body of evidence points to a central role for cross-talk between this immune microenvironment and tumor cells in regulating the growth of tumor cells in myeloma. These interactions play a dual role-with some interactions promoting tumor growth while others suppress growth of tumor cells. Cross talk between T and B cells has been implicated in normal B/plasma cell differentiation and may also play a role in pathogenesis of myeloma, explaining increased risk of plasma cell malignancies in certain settings such as Gaucher disease. The bone marrow of MM patients is often infiltrated with innate cells such as dendritic cells (DCs) and cross-talk between myeloid/plasmacytoid DCs or macrophages may promote growth and survival of MM cells. This cross-talk may also have fundamental implications for inducing genomic instability in tumor cells, such as via the induction of cytidine deaminases in tumor cells. Genomic instability is an early feature of human MM and many of the mutations found in MM tumor cells are also present in the precursor states. The immune system has the capacity to recognize these precursor lesions and even in the setting of clinical MM, the tumor bed contains T cells that can be recruited to kill tumor cells. Specific targets of tumor immunity may differ between preclinical and clinical malignancy. Immunity to certain stem cell-associated antigens are in particular associated with reduced risk of progression to clinical MM. With advanced disease, tumor infiltrating T cells encounter several immune inhibitory checkpoints which leads to suppression of function of tumor-infiltrating T cells. In addition to T cells, cells of the innate immune system such as natural killer and natural killer T cells may also be attractive targets of protective tumor immunity in MM. Immunologic approaches may also be combined with other strategies such as other immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs) already in clinical use in MM. Recent advances in mouse modeling provide new opportunities to better understand how to harness the immune system against human MM. Such approaches have the advantage of the potential for durable control of tumor cells via immunologic memory. Such approaches are now entering the clinic as attractive targets to restore anti-tumor immunity, both in the context of therapy or prevention of MM. Disclosures Dhodapkar:Celgene: Research Funding. Off Label Use: checkpoint blockade drugs, imids.
Parallel power posterior analyses for fast computation of marginal likelihoods in phylogenetics

Motivation: In Bayesian phylogenetic inference, marginal likelihoods are estimated using either the path-sampling or stepping-stone-sampling algorithms. Both algorithms are computationally demanding because they require a series of power posterior Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations. Here we introduce a general parallelization strategy that distributes the power posterior MCMC simulations and the likelihood computations over available CPUs. Our parallelization strategy can easily be applied to any statistical model despite our primary focus on molecular substitution models in this study. Results: Using two phylogenetic example datasets, we demonstrate that the runtime of the marginal likelihood estimation can be reduced significantly even if only two CPUs are available (an average performance increase of 1.96x). The performance increase is nearly linear with the number of available CPUs. We record a performance increase of 11.4x for cluster nodes with 16 CPUs, representing a substantial reduction to the runtime of marginal likelihood estimations. Hence, our parallelization strategy enables the estimation of marginal likelihoods to complete in a feasible amount of time which previously needed days, weeks or even months. Availability: The methods described here are implemented in our open-source software RevBayes which is available from http://www.RevBayes.com.
The Spread of Youth Gangs into Rural Areas: A Survey of School Counselors:

Although the study of inner city youth gangs has received substantial attention in the literature, such is not the case for rural youth gangs. In this study 41 rural school counselors from eight western states were surveyed on their perceptions of the extent of gang and crime problems in their schools and communities. The results of this study suggest an emerging gang and crime problem in these rural communities, for which the majority of school counselors felt ill prepared. More research and intervention is encouraged, both as a means of alleviating the current level of activity, as well as to help prevent the further spread of gang problems into these rural areas.
Bilateral C5 Motor Palsy after Anterior Cervical Decompression and Fusion: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Background Bilateral C5 motor palsy is a rare but potentially debilitating complication after cervical spine decompression with very few reports in the published literature. Purpose To present a case of bilateral C5 motor palsy after anterior cervical decompression and fusion and discuss the incidence and risk factors of this complication. Study Design/Setting We report a case of a 57-year-old male who underwent a three level C3-C6 anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with instrumentation who developed a postoperative bilateral C5 motor palsy. Methods A review of the literature was performed regarding reports on and incidence of post-operative bilateral C5 palsy following either anterior or posterior cervical spine decompression. Results Bilateral C5 motor palsy is a rare complication of cervical spine decompression with an overall incidence of 0.38%. Although a group of risk factors have been suggested no single cause has been identified. Conclusions Bilateral C5 motor palsy is a rare but debilitating complication of cervical decompression.
Prevention of Osteoporosis

Prevention of osteoporosis should be a lifelong concern for both women and men, particularly those who exhibit controllable risk factors. Although the disease is generally associated with middle-aged and older women, there is growing evidence that, the maxim, “Osteoporosis is a pediatric disease with geriatric consequences” is gaining greater validity. Maximizing bone mineral density (BMD) during years of growth and development is an essential prerequisite for assuring good bone health. As children grow into adulthood, their bone density increases until it reaches peak bone mass—the largest amount of bone tissue that can be achieved in life. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases states that up to 90 % of peak bone mass in women occurs by age 18 and in men by age 20. Although bone mass is determined in part by genetic factors, other factors of nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle can significantly influence bone health. This chapter will provide an overview of the principal preventive measures needed to fight against osteoporosis. Secondly, this chapter focuses on the needs of children and adolescents who are seen as increasingly important age groups for osteoporosis prevention.
The role of fracture in the impact initiation of Ni-Al intermetallic composite reactives during dynamic loading

Abstract Mechanical initiation of reactions in powder systems involve complex interactions that can yield unexpected results. Two materials that exhibit similar thermal responses can behave very differently under the same loading conditions due to differences in their mechanical properties. Reactive composite powders with small characteristic dimensions can exhibit short ignition delays and reduced thermal ignition thresholds; however, a full understanding of the response of these powders to rapid mechanical loading is still unclear. This work seeks to clarify the role of mechanical properties in impact induced ignition by considering the response of nanolaminate (NL) powders and high energy ball milled (HEBM) Ni-Al powders subjected to impact loading. The selected materials have nearly identical thermal ignition temperatures, but contrast a relatively complex microstructure (HEBM) with a simple ordered microstructure (NL) while maintaining comparable length scales (approximately 50–100 nm diffusion distances). The powders were placed into a windowed enclosure and mechanically loaded using a light gas gun, which allowed the resulting reactions to be observed using high-speed imaging. Even though the thermal ignition temperatures for the two powders are within 30 °C of each other, it was observed that the NL powders reacted on the microsecond timescale, immediately following the compaction wave for a short distance before decoupling from the compaction front. In contrast, the HEBM powders reacted after a several millisecond delay and clearly propagated as a deflagration front. Microindentation showed that the HEBM powders are much more ductile than those of NL. This suggests that the primary difference between the behavior of these materials on impact results from the ability and degree of the material to fracture, illustrating that the mechanical properties of a reactive material can have a dramatic effect on ignition during impact loading.
Combination effects of Enzastaurin with anti-tumor agents in human tumor cell lines

C45 Enzastaurin (LY317615.HCl) inhibits signaling through the protein kinase C (PKC)-β and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT pathways, reducing cell proliferation, suppressing tumor-induced angiogenesis, and inducing tumor cell apoptosis. To better understand the role of Enzastaurin in combination therapy, we have conducted systematic studies of selected combination of Enzastaurin with standard chemotherapeutics and targeted agents in relevant human tumor models. High content cellular assays with multiple endpoint readouts, such as proliferation, cell cycle, mitotic index and apoptosis, were used to examine drug combination effects in cell lines grown in monolayer culture. Data were analyzed using InAct software (Integrated Analysis for Combination Therapy). We will present evidence and possible underlying mechanism for ‘greater than additive’ combination effects for Enzastaurin at clinically achievable concentrations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines.
Prolonged length of stay in delayed cholecystectomy is not due to intraoperative or postoperative contributors.

Abstract Background Previous studies have reported that same-day laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis is superior to delayed elective cholecystectomy. Although this practice is ideal, it requires significant hospital resources, particularly for an underprivileged inner-city population at a large, municipal hospital. We sought to evaluate the implementation of same-day laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a large, municipal hospital and assess the possible benefits of decreasing preoperative length of stay (LOS), particularly its effect on operative time and length of stay in patients with acute cholecystitis. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective chart review of patients treated for symptomatic gallstone disease between September 2012 and November 2013. Medical records were reviewed, and relevant data points were collected. Univariate and multivariate regressions were performed to assess the correlation between time to operation ( 36 h [delay]) and the main outcomes (operative time and total length of stay). Inclusion criteria were patients age ≥18 y who underwent same-admission cholecystectomy and had a diagnosis of cholecystitis on pathology. Eighty-eight patients met all inclusion criteria. Results The mean (standard deviation) preoperative LOS was 76.2 (±48.6) h, the mean operative time was 2.3 (±1.1) h, and the mean postoperative LOS was 60.3 (±60.1) h. The average total LOS was 136 (±79.8) h. Operative times and postoperative LOS were similar for patients in the delay and no delay groups. Patients with >36 h wait before surgery had a total length of stay twice as long as patients with versus 83.3 h; P = 0.0005). These findings remained significant when adjusted for age, sex, radiologic findings, number of preoperative tests, and pathology. Conclusions Increased preoperative LOS is not associated with a significant increase in operative time. However, it was associated with significantly increased length of stay. Further analysis is needed to explore the potential cost savings of decreasing preoperative LOS.
Evaluation of the Painful Total Hip Arthroplasty

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is one of the most successful procedures in orthopedic surgery, yet persistent pain postoperatively remains a concern. When evaluating a patient with a painful THA, it is important for the surgeon to consider the various potential etiologies of pain including infection, component loosening, fracture, soft-tissue impingement, bursitis, tendonitis, bearing surface wear, synovitis, and adverse local tissue reactions. It is critical that physicians maintain a systematic approach towards the painful THA. Obtaining a thorough history and physical examination is critical, as it will assist in narrowing the differential diagnosis and guide additional testing. Initial radiographic studies should initially consist of anteroposterior pelvis and lateral imaging of the effected hip with full visualization of the prosthesis. Based on the history, physical examination, and radiographic images, advanced imaging and laboratory markers can also be ordered. The purpose of this chapter is to review the evaluation and approach to the painful THA, including the physical examination, radiographic analysis, and indications for secondary imaging and laboratory studies that may guide the physician towards a diagnosis.
CGG repeat length and AGG interruptions as indicators of fragile X–associated diminished ovarian reserve

Fragile X premutation (PM) carriers may experience difficulties conceiving a child probably due to fragile X–associated diminished ovarian reserve (FXDOR). We investigated which subgroups of carriers with a PM are at higher risk of FXDOR, and whether the number of AGG interruptions within the repeat sequence further ameliorates the risk. We compared markers of ovarian reserve, including anti-Mullerian hormone, antral follicle count, and number of oocytes retrieved between different subgroups of patients with a PM. We found that carriers with midrange repeats size (70–90 CGG) demonstrate significantly lower ovarian reserve. Additionally, the number of AGG interruptions directly correlated with parameters of ovarian reserve. Patients with longer uninterrupted CGG repeats post–AGG interruptions had the lowest ovarian reserve. This study connects AGG interruptions and certain CGG repeat length to reduced ovarian reserve in carriers with a PM. A possible explanation for our findings is the proposed gonadotoxicity of the FMR1 transcripts. Reduction of AGG interruptions could increase the likelihood that secondary RNA structures in the FMR1 messenger RNA are formed, which could cause cell dysfunction within the ovaries. These findings may provide women with guidance regarding their fertility potential and accordingly assist with their family planning.
Counting, measuring, ordering: translation problems and solutions

This paper describes some difficulties associated with the translation of numbers (scalars) used for counting, measuring, or selecting items or properties. A set of problematic issues is described, and the presence of these difficulties is quantified by examining a set of texts and translations. An approach to a solution is suggested.
The Impact of the Roast Levels of Coffee Extracts on their Potential Anticancer Activities.

Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world and contains numerous phytochemicals that are beneficial to consumer health. The phytochemical profile of coffee, however, can be affected by the roast level. In this study, we compared the effect of roasting level on the growth inhibitory activity of HT-29 (colon) and SCC-25 (oral) cancer cell lines. The different roasting stages selected for this study were green, cinnamon/blonde, city/medium, full city/medium-dark, and full city plus/dark. Cancer cells were treated with various concentrations of coffee extracts for 72 hr. Cell viability was quantified using the thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide assay. It was found that the lighter roast extracts, Cinnamon in particular, reduced cell growth more than darker roast extracts. The Cinnamon extract had the greatest amount of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Relative levels of gallic, caffeic, and chlorogenic acid in the extracts were also compared. The Cinnamon coffee extract had the highest levels of gallic and caffeic acids, which have both been widely-regarded as bioactive phytochemicals. In conclusion, the consumption of lighter roasted coffee, may contribute to the prevention of certain types of cancer such as oral and colon. Chemical compounds in coffee may reduce the risk for certain types of cancers. These compounds may be particularly abundant in lighter roasted coffee. Therefore, lighter roasted coffee could contribute to the prevention of cancer through a healthy diet.
MICROMETHODS FOR DETERMINATION OF AMMONIA, UREA, TOTAL NITROGEN, URIC ACID, CREATININE (AND CREATINE), AND ALLANTOIN

The success with which Krebs and Henseleit (1) employed Warburg’s method of surviving tissue slices in the problem of the formation of urea in the liver encouraged its use for a direct attack on other problems of nitrogen metabolism in animals.
Caspases in ischaemic brain injury and neurodegenerative disease

The importance of caspases in developmental neuronal death is well-established. Recent data provide compelling evidence of caspase activation after ischaemic brain injury. Caspase inhibitors reduce cell death in several models of ischaemic injury. This review summarizes our current understanding of caspase function in ischaemic brain injury and examines the accumulating evidence of caspase participation in several neurodegenerative diseases. The therapeutic consequences of caspase inhibitor treatment in reducing cell death after such injury are also discussed.
Afterword: White Nationalism, Trolling Humor as Propaganda, and the “Renaissance” of Christian Racism in the Age of Trump

The Afterword builds on the book’s argument that Renaissance nationalism was frequently proto-racist—a kind of Christian nationalism allied, paradoxically, to racist constructions of a pan-European whiteness—and, vice versa, that proto-racism was itself both “Christian” and part of pan-European nationalist movements. Inattention to this early formation of racism has obscured the legacy of this ideology, blinding us to the resurgence of the uncannily similar “white nationalism” that President Trump has exploited through nativist demagoguery and anti-politically correct humor aimed at minorities and immigrants. Jeering Trumpist laughter is Hobbesian, declaring supremacy over others, making it the clearest expression of white nationalism in America today. Trump’s tactics and message alike closely follow white nationalists’ use of “comedic packaging”—the alt-right meme culture of trolling, bullying, insults, digital blackface, and the vitriolic cartoons that act as a gateway drug to white nationalism. In white nationalism, Renaissance understandings of “nation” in terms of race and religion are prominent. Like early modern nativists, modern white nationalists construct nationality in ways consistent with early definitions of “nation” via Biblical senses of “the heathen nations, the Gentiles” (OED 2a) and “Birth, nativity; inborn nature or [moral] character” (OED 9). Metaphysically racist modern white nationalists remain opposed to what they perceive to be the influence of non-Gentile immigrant Strangers. Theirs is a European “identitarian” ideology that emphatically embraces Christendom, though not Christian behavior.
Cooperative partnerships and pricing in the pharmaceutical supply chain

The pharmaceutical supply chain has become highly consolidated. Currently, over 70% of all prescriptions are handled by three pharmacy benefit managers which each own a mail-order pharmacy. To comp...
Outcomes of 'unrecognised situation awareness failures events' in intensive care unit transfer of children in a Japanese children's hospital.

AIM To demonstrate that unrecognised situation awareness failures events (UNSAFE) transfers are associated with poorer outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU) at a Japanese children's hospital lacking a rapid response system. METHODS This retrospective cohort study was conducted between January 2013 and February 2016. UNSAFE transfers were defined as unplanned in-hospital ward-to-ICU transfers requiring tracheal intubation, vasoactive medications or ≥3 fluid boluses before arrival or in the first 60 min of ICU care. We compared ICU stay duration and mortality between UNSAFE and non-UNSAFE transfers. RESULTS There were 2126 admissions to the paediatric ICU during the study period, and 244 cases met the definition of an unscheduled in-hospital transfer (11.5%). Of these, the number of patients transferred following cardiopulmonary resuscitation, in the UNSAFE group and in the non-UNSAFE group were 9 (3.7%), 68 (28%) and 167 (68%), respectively. In the UNSAFE group, the number of patients who required tracheal intubation, initiation of vasoactive medications or ≥ 3 fluid boluses in the first 60 min of ICU care or before arrival in the ICU was 61 (90%), 38 (56%) and 9 (13%), respectively. ICU stay duration and mortality were significantly poorer in the UNSAFE group than in the non-UNSAFE group (9 vs. 4 days, P < 0.0001; 13 vs. 4.2%, odds ratio = 3.5, 95% confidence interval = 1.2-9.8, P = 0.020, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Patients who experienced UNSAFE transfers had longer ICU stays and higher mortality, and it may be used as a metric of evaluation of effects of rapid response system implementation.
Bayesian estimation of sensitivity and specificity of culture- and PCR-based methods for the detection of six major non-O157 Escherichia coli serogroups in cattle feces.

Abstract Non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (non-O157 STEC, O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145) are foodborne pathogens of public health importance. Culture and PCR-based methods have been developed for the detection of these serogroups in cattle feces. The objectives of this study were to evaluate diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of PCR- and culture-based methods for the detection of the six non-O157 serogroups, and to estimate their true prevalence in cattle feces, using a Bayesian latent class modeling approach that accounts for conditional dependence among the three methods. A total of 576 fecal samples collected from the floor of pens of finishing feedlot cattle during summer 2013 were used. Fecal samples, suspended in E. coli broth, were enriched and subjected to three detection methods: culture (involving immunomagnetic separation with serogroup specific beads and plating on a selective medium), conventional (cPCR), and multiplex quantitative PCR (mqPCR) assays. Samples were considered serogroup positive if the sample or the recovered isolate tested positive by PCR for an O gene of interest; neither Shiga toxin (stx) nor intimin (eae) genes were assessed. Prior information on the performance of the three methods was elicited from three subject experts. Culture was generally the least sensitive and most specific of the 3 tests across serogroups, mqPCR was generally the most sensitive test and cPCR more specific than mqPCR. Sensitivity analysis indicated that posterior inferences on test performance and prevalence were susceptible to prior specification in cases where few or no detections present in the data for selected combinations of diagnostic methods (i.e. extreme category problem). Our results characterize performance of detection methods and true prevalence of non-O157 serogroups, thus informing necessary adjustments for test bias in risk modeling.
The American Academy of Pediatrics’ Safe Sleep and Tummy Time Recommendations, Two Decades Later: Examination of Parents’ and Expectant Parents’ Awareness of the Recommendations and Evaluation of a New, Educational Video

Purpose: Each year in the United States, approximately 3,500 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly (Centers for Disease Control, 2015). Despite efforts from various organizations and practitioners to educate parents on the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) safe sleep and tummy time recommendations (AAP 2005; 2008), many parents remain uninformed of these recommendations or report barriers to implementing the recommendations (e.g., Colson, Stille, Payton, Bernstein, & Dworkin, 2000). The purpose of the study was to evaluate: (a) the efficacy of a new video on …
Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction: JACC Focus Seminar

Autonomic nervous system control of the heart is a dynamic process in both health and disease. A multilevel neural network is responsible for control of chronotropy, lusitropy, dromotropy, and inotropy. Intrinsic autonomic dysfunction arises from diseases that directly affect the autonomic nerves, such as diabetes mellitus and the syndromes of primary autonomic failure. Extrinsic autonomic dysfunction reflects the changes in autonomic function that are secondarily induced by cardiac or other disease. An array of tests interrogate various aspects of cardiac autonomic control in either resting conditions or with physiological perturbations from resting conditions. The prognostic significance of these assessments have been well established. Clinical usefulness has not been established, and the precise mechanistic link to mortality is less well established. Further efforts are required to develop optimal approaches to delineate cardiac autonomic dysfunction and its adverse effects to develop tools that can be used to guide clinical decision-making.
Exploring the Architecture Trade Space of NextGen Global Navigation Satellite Systems

This paper studies the trade-offs between two metrics that play a key role in the design of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)architectures: Dilution Of Precision (DOP)and cost. DOP is a multiplicative factor that quantifies the satellite-user geometric diversity and sets the limit on the achievable User Navigation Error (UNE). We focus on tradeoffs between DOP and cost driven by satellite constellation architecture decisions - e.g., orbit altitude, number of satellites. For simplicity, we restrict the analysis to global constellations resulting in a worst-site Geometric DOP (GDOP)value less than 6. This GDOP value is considered a threshold above which the resulting system would add little value for most GNSS users. The cost metric is subdivided in flight unit production costs based on the satellite dry mass and the learning factor experienced when producing N identical flight units, as well as the launch costs. Satellite dry mass is derived from the estimated payload power required to close the navigation signal link budget at the target received signal power of −155dBW. User navigation error is inferred with the computed GDOP values and a typical GPS pseudorange measurement error budget for dual frequency signal processing. We identified orbit altitude regions of interest that can be used in the design of future GNSS and potentially outperform the current global constellation architectures. In particular, results show that several constellations in “low” Medium Earth Orbits (MEO), – approximately half the orbit altitude of current GNSS constellations- are on the UNE-Cost Pareto front. When compared with the current GPS and GALILEO architectures, these alternatives consist of larger constellations of smaller satellites and have the potential to achieve both better performance and lower costs. Our analysis indicates that Low Earth Orbit (LEO)constellations are significantly more expensive to deploy due to the larger number of satellites required. Finally, we assess the impact of operational costs, launch cost reduction, different end-of-life disposal strategies and transmit power on the overall results.