cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
209 STRENGTHENING PHYSICIAN TRAINING IN GERIATRICS.

Background The Emory Reynolds Program is an innovative program developed to strengthen physician training in geriatrics. Implemented in 2003, the program is designed, in part, to expose medical students to key concepts and principles of geriatric medicine. The 10 key principles that form the core of the program are the Basics in Geriatrics 10 ("Big 10 "). During their third year medical students receive an orientation to the BIG 10 and are asked to reflect on these principles during their internal medicine rotation. Objective To qualitatively analyze experiences of third-year medical students with geriatric patients, using the "BIG 10 " principles, and to determine the impact on student awareness of these issues. Methods From August 2004 until July 2005, students were required to submit paragraphs about geriatric patients whose care they had participated in and to describe how these patients exemplified one of the "BIG 10 " principles. All were analyzed for content, frequency of "BIG 10 " principles, and common themes. Questionnaires at the end of the clerkship were given to all students to assess their attitudes and behavior related to geriatrics. Results 982 paragraphs were reviewed from 105 students. Recurring themes included the following: (1) Are physicians too aggressive in the diagnosis and treatment of geriatric patients leading to iatrogenic illness and decreased functional capacity? (2) Discussion of end-of-life issues should take place early while patients are competent to make their own decisions; (3) Diagnosis and treatment of acute problems is complicated by chronic medical conditions; (4) Elderly patients are often the caregivers for other elderly patients, creating a new set of social and ethical issues; (5) There is tremendous variability amongst the elderly; (6) Information from primary caregivers is vital and often difficult to obtain; (7) Polypharmacy is the most common cause of iatrogenic illness; (8) Quality is more important than quantity of life; (9) Family members disagree among themselves and with medical staff regarding end-of-life issues; (10) Family support significantly decreases length of stay. 127 students completed questionnaires at the end of the clerkship. Of those students 25% reported that they were more interested in the problems of older patients as compared to before the clerkship; 80.5% reported that the "BIG 10 " assignments made them think more about the problems of older patient; and 86.5% reported that they learned more about the special issues in the care of older patients through the combined curriculum elements. Conclusions A core curriculum of geriatrics that revolves around key basic principles is an effective tool in increasing medical student awareness of geriatric medicine and helps uncover important learning issues that can be incorporated into future curricular innovations.
Determination of the Thyroid Function for Simple Nephropathy Children

Objective To investigate the changes of serum thyroid hormone levels in children with the simple nephrotic syndrome.Methods We measured the serum thyroid hormone levels in a group of simple nephrotic syndrome children (n=20) and a group of healthy controls (n=20) by radioimmunoassay double antibody (RIA-DA), and then compared the differences in serum thyroid hormone levels the 2 groups by a statistical method. Results The thyroid hormone levels in the contorl group were normal, but the serum T 3, T 4, TSH in the nephrotic syndrome group showed changes of different degrees. They were ( 1.0 ±0.5) nmol/L, ( 15.5 ± 32.4 ) nmol/L, and ( 20.2 ± 13.2 ) mU/L, respectively. There was a significant difference between the simple nephrotic syndrome group and the controls (P 0.01 ). Conclusions There might be some significance in using serum thyroid hormone levels in children with the simple nephrotic syndrome for the improvement of management, curative effect and evaluation of prognosis.
Study on the efficacy of spinosad Natular G30 against Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus in two types of breeding habitats in Hainan, China

Objective The efficacy of spinosad Natular G30 against Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus was evaluated at differentdoses with comparing sewage habitat and small body of water with waste plants habitat,so as to provide evidence for mosquitocontrol.MethodsUsing wild Cx. pipiens quinquefasciatus larvae and water in sewage and small body of water in Haikou,Hainan province, the efficacy of Natular G30 at 10, 20, 40, 80 mg/L was tested, percentage reduction was taken as efficacy index.The pH, temperature, total solids, salinity, dissolved oxygen of habitat water were determined at any two points of time during thetrial period.ResultsThere were significant differences(P0.05) between pH and dissolved oxygen in the two habitats, whileno differences between temperature, total solids, salinity. The pH and dissolved oxygen of sewage water were(9.62±0.43) and(12.79±3.01) mg/L, and those in small body of water with wasted plants were(8.91±0.39) and(7.77±3.46) mg/L. The residualefficacy of Natular G30 at 10 mg/m2and 20 mg/m2against Cx. pipiens quinquefasciatus in sewage breeding site lasted for 12 days,while 40 mg/m2and 80 mg/m2in both habitats was more than 30 days. In two tested habitats, after one day of Natular G30 using,the first and second instar mosquito reduction was nearly 100%, but for the third and forth instar larvae, 100% reduction date wasat three to seven days. To our surprise, the reduction of pupae was negative after one day insecticide applied.ConclusionSpinosad has high and long-lasting efficiency against Cx. pipiens quinquefasciatus larvae. Its effectiveness is better when appliedin the habitats of small body of water with wasted plants than that of sewage. Spinosad has a very higher efficacy to control thefirst and second instar young larvae than the third and forth instars larvae, but no noticeable effect on pupae. To controlCx. pipiens quinquefasciatus, the spinosad rate should be adjusted based on the characteristics of habitat water.
Evaluation of different methods to detect microbial hygiene indicators relevant in the dairy industry.

It is estimated that 19% of the total food loss from retail, food service, and households comes from dairy products. A portion of this loss may be attributed to premature spoilage of products due to lapses in sanitation and postpasteurization contamination at the processing level. Bacterial groups including coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae (EB), and total gram-negative organisms represent indicators of poor sanitation or postpasteurization contamination in dairy products worldwide. Although Petrifilms (3M, St. Paul, MN) and traditional selective media are commonly used for the testing of these indicator organism groups throughout the US dairy industry, new rapid methods are also being developed. This project was designed to evaluate the ability of different methods to detect coliforms, EB, and other gram-negative organisms isolated from various dairy products and dairy processing environments. Using the Food Microbe Tracker database, a collection of 211 coliform, EB, and gram-negative bacterial isolates representing 25 genera associated with dairy products was assembled for this study. We tested the selected isolates in pure culture (at levels of approximately 15 to 300 cells/test) to evaluate the ability of 3M Coliform Petrifilm to detect coliforms, 3M Enterobacteriaceae Petrifilm, violet red bile glucose agar, and an alternative flow cytometry-based method (bioMerieux D-Count, Marcy-l'Etoile, France) to detect EB, and crystal violet tetrazolium agar to detect total gram-negative organisms. Of the 211 gram-negative isolates tested, 82% (174/211) had characteristic growth on crystal violet tetrazolium agar. Within this set of 211 gram-negative organisms, 175 isolates representing 19 EB genera were screened for detection using EB selective/differential testing methods. We observed positive results for 96% (168/175), 90% (158/175), and 86% (151/175) of EB isolates when tested on EB Petrifilm, violet red bile glucose agar, and D-Count, respectively; optimization of the cut-off thresholds for the D-Count may further improve its sensitivity and specificity, but will require additional data and may vary in food matrices. Additionally, 74% (129/175) of the EB isolates tested positive as coliforms. The data obtained from this study identify differences in detection between 5 microbial hygiene indicator tests and highlight the benefits of EB and total gram-negative testing methods.
Assessing chronic pelvic pain: clinical use of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire

AbstractThe Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) was administered to 108 chronic pelvic pain patients and 96 non-pain controls in a public sector ambulatory clinic, and to 58 private gynaecology outpatients without pain. Sharp differences emerged on all four EPQ scales. These data suggest that the evaluation and treatment of chronic pelvic pain in this group of medically indigent women can be made more individualized based upon abnormal EPQ profiles
A web-based high-performance multicriteria decision support system for medical diagnosis: Research Articles

Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) methods can be powerful aids for evaluating patients' medical information in medical diagnostic systems. Technique ordered preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) is one of the more widely used MCDM methods in decision support systems. For the purpose of this work, the TOPSIS method is modified into a more suitable form and used for the implementation of a web-based medical diagnostic system. In our modified TOPSIS method, we have utilized fuzzy logic so that users can more accurately describe their symptoms. The data given to the modified TOPSIS method are often massive in proportions and may take a considerable amount of time to generate a ranking of alternatives. TOPSIS lends itself to parallel computation because it is virtually a combination of matrix computations. Therefore, computer parallelism is implemented so that a large amount of input data can be handled simultaneously, hence decreasing overall execution time. In addition, to make our MCDM system more accessible, we have designed our system to be web based. The web-based medical diagnosis system includes a dynamically generated web-based user interface, while the parallel implementation of the modified TOPSIS component, in conjunction with the Common Gateway Interface, forms the back end of the system. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Int Syst 22: 1083–1099, 2007.
Sensing the Environment Through Sestrins: Implications for Cellular Metabolism

Sestrins are a family of stress-responsive genes that have evolved to attenuate damage induced by stress caused to the cell. By virtue of their antioxidant activity, protein products of Sestrin genes prevent the accumulation of reactive oxygen species within the cell, thereby attenuating the detrimental effects of oxidative stress. In parallel, Sestrins participate in several signaling pathways that control the activity of the target of rapamycin protein kinase (TOR). TOR is a crucial sensor of intracellular and extracellular conditions that promotes cell growth and anabolism when nutrients and growth factors are abundant. In addition to reacting to stress-inducing insults, Sestrins also monitor the changes in the availability of nutrients, which allows them to serve as a key checkpoint for the TOR-regulated signaling pathways. In this review, we will discuss how Sestrins integrate signals from numerous stress- and nutrient-responsive signaling pathways to orchestrate cellular metabolism and support cell viability.
Parallel collective factorization for modeling large heterogeneous networks

Relational learning methods for heterogeneous network data are becoming increasingly important for many real-world applications. However, existing relational learning approaches are sequential, inefficient, unable to scale to large heterogeneous networks, as well as many other limitations related to convergence, parameter tuning, etc. In this paper, we propose Parallel Collective Matrix Factorization (PCMF) that serves as a fast and flexible framework for joint modeling of a variety of heterogeneous network data. The PCMF learning algorithm solves for a single parameter given the others, leading to a parallel scheme that is fast, flexible, and general for a variety of relational learning tasks and heterogeneous data types. The proposed approach is carefully designed to be (1) efficient for large heterogeneous networks (linear in the total number of observations from the set of input matrices), (2) flexible as many components are interchangeable and easily adaptable, and (3) effective for a variety of applications as well as for different types of data. The experiments demonstrate the scalability, flexibility, and effectiveness of PCMF for a variety of relational modeling tasks. In particular, PCMF outperforms a recent state-of-the-art approach in runtime, scalability, and prediction quality. Finally, we also investigate variants of PCMF for serving predictions in a real-time streaming fashion.
Neuroticism and clinical course of weight restoration in a meal-based, rapid-weight gain, inpatient-partial hospitalization program for eating disorders.

We evaluated the impact of personality on weight restoration in 211 underweight (BMI ≤ 19 kg/m2) females admitted to an inpatient-partial hospitalization program for eating disorders. Symptomatology and personality were assessed by questionnaires, and clinical and demographic variables were assessed by chart review. Neuroticism, a personality trait associated with reactivity to stress, was correlated with higher symptomatology, chronicity, length of stay, and income source. Contrary to our hypothesis, neuroticism was positively associated with weight restoration. Length of stay mediated this relationship such that longer length of stay in patients with high neuroticism explained their higher likelihood of weight restoration prior to program discharge. Higher neuroticism is therefore associated with better weight restoration outcomes but may also indicate greater difficulty transitioning out of intensive treatment.
A Pilot Application of SELDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry in Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes.

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), aplastic anemia (AA) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) are a heterogeneous group of disorders with significant clinical overlap. Current nosologic classifications schemes based mostly on morphology may not reflect pathophysiologic relationship between individual entities. The recent refinement of surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization (SELDI) time-of-flight (TOF) technology allows for a high-throughput protein analysis of various biologic samples. Plasma samples from patients with MDS (N=134), AA (N=41), PNH (N=34), and healthy controls (N=75) were subjected to SELDI analyses using H4 chips. We limited analysis to spectra with more than 80 peaks. Reproducibility for each array run was monitored by repeating measurement of one standard sample on each chip. All spectra with peaks characterized by mass-to-charge ratios between 1.5–30 kDa were examined. Peaks with amplitude of at least > 3 times the average background noise were considered as meaningful. We had previously attempted SELDI analysis in bone marrow failure in a direct, manual, non-parametric fashion; this approach did not result in satisfactory discrimination. Here we have designed a new method utilizing a "binning" algorithm of peaks fulfilling selection criteria. A non-parametric approach was applied to select peaks within the bin defined by specific m/z amplitude. For each condition the "binned" signals were screened using Fisher’s exact test to determine significant peaks; p
Exploring Pre- and Postoperative Profiles of Hot Water Epilepsy: Revisiting Pathogenic Mechanisms

Hot water epilepsy (HWE) refers to a rare form of reflex epilepsy precipitated by the stimulus of pouring hot water over the head or by bathing. Despite being most commonly seen in southern India, isolated HWE cases have surfaced in western countries. HWE classically manifests as simple or complex partial with temporal lobe semiology. About a quarter of patients show interictal EEG abnormalities, which mostly occur over the temporal lobes. HWE has two established variants that are typically benign. We present two cases where HWE preceded spontaneous seizures, which later progressed to pharmacoresistant epilepsy. These cases garner further evidence for a symptomatic variant of HWE. Additionally, clinical features of HWE are discussed and an updated model of pathogenesis incorporating self-inducement phenomenon is proposed.
Native American Vietnam-era Veterans’ Access to VA Healthcare: Vulnerability and Resilience in Two Montana Reservation Communities

As a growing segment of the military, Native Americans are expected to increase enrollment in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare. Currently, 20% of Native American veterans are aged 65-74, which means they served during the Vietnam era. This study explores the experiences of rural American Indian veterans from two Montana reservations with accessing VA health services. Utilizing detailed data obtained in focus group and individual interviews, we examine the experiences, attitudes, barriers and needs of rural Vietnam-era veterans. Analyses indicate that while Native American Vietnam-era veterans experienced a poor reception returning to the US after military service, they had more positive receptions in their home reservation communities. However, reintegration was often impeded by poor local opportunity structures and limited resources. As they have aged and turned to the VA for healthcare, these veterans have encountered barriers such as lack of information regarding eligibility and services, qualifying for care, excessive distances to health services, the cost of travel, and poor quality of assistance from VA personnel. Despite variations in their resources, tribal community efforts to honor veterans have begun to facilitate better access to healthcare. Focusing on the roles and importance of place-based resources, this study clarifies challenges and obstacles that Native American Vietnam-era veterans experience with accessing VA health services in rural, reservation communities. Additionally, findings show how tribal efforts are facilitating access as they begin to implement the 2010 agreement between the VA and Indian Health Services to better serve Native veterans.
Two-stage approach for the optimal power flow of photovoltaic-penetrated distribution systems

The paper presents a two-stage model for achieving feasible optimal solution along with numerical validation for the exactness of the available second order cone relaxation in the distribution optimal power flow problem. To this end, the IEEE 13-bus, 34-bus and 123-bus distribution power systems are adapted by balancing the various feeder segments and by populating selected nodes with photovoltaic inverters. The different test feeders are studied under typical daily power profiles. Results generated by Matlab Software for Disciplined Convex Programming (CVX) and the nonlinear solver (fmincon) suggest that second order cone relaxation for the branch flow model is exact only for the case studies of small radial systems but not necessary for large radial systems.
Insect community response to switchgrass intercropping and stand age of loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantations.

Intercropping switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) between rows in managed pine stands is a potential, emerging method for biofuel feedstock production in forestry systems. Switchgrass intercropping likely alters vegetation characteristics within a stand by increasing herbaceous vegetation cover and thus influences insect communities positively. However, its effect may vary with stand age, which often determines canopy closure and vegetation structure within a stand: effects of switchgrass intercropping may be stronger in old pine stands with a closed canopy than in young pine stands with an open canopy. We examined how switchgrass intercropping and stand age, namely 3–4-year-old pine (YPine) and 8–9-year-old pine (OPine), influenced insect abundance and diversity in loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) stands in Mississippi, U.S.A., during May to August 2013–2014. We captured insects at 36 locations throughout 12 stands (three stands per each of four treatments; intercropping and non-intercropping treatment in YPine and OPine stands), using pan traps. Abundance and family level richness were greater in YPine stands and Shannon–Wiener diversity and evenness at family level was higher in OPine stands both years. However, insect abundance and diversity did not differ between intercropping and non-intercropping treatments. Community composition was also influenced by stand age, which explained > 90% of constrained inertia, rather than switchgrass intercropping. Our findings suggest that switchgrass intercropping is unlikely to significantly affect insect communities in managed pine stands, whereas stand age, as well as associated successional changes, can be a main factor affecting insects, as often observed in other animal taxa in managed pine landscapes.
Rebelling Woman: Culinary Crime in Pedro Almodóvar's ¿Qué he hecho yo para merecer esto!!

This article analyzes the symbolic importance of food in Pedro Almodovar9s film What Have I Done to Deserve This!! ( ?Que he hecho yo para merecer esto!! , 1984) vis-a-vis the notorious icon, la madre maruja (the Spanish housewife and mother). It argues that food is rhetorically invoked in Almodovar9s film to organize cultural politics around gender in Spain after the almost forty-year dictatorship of Francisco Franco. What Have I Done is considered by many to be Almodovar9s best work and it is also regarded as an indispensable film, not only within his filmography but in the history of Spanish cinema. The film offers a radical departure from mainstream cinematographic images of women and food. Examining the film9s use of food provides an invaluable source for the study of social conflicts and anxieties around gender, inherited from a troubled past.
Snake scale clips as a source of high quality DNA suitable for RAD sequencing

Restriction site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) methods are growing in popularity, yet require large starting amounts of high quality DNA. I examined the utility of scale clips, a minimally invasive method of tissue collection for live snakes, as a source of high quality DNA suitable for RADseq. I compared DNA extracted from muscular tissue obtained from roadkilled copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix) and ventral scale clips obtained from live A. contortrix. Much less DNA was extracted from scale clips than from muscular tissue, yet molecular weight and number of sequence reads were not different. Amount of DNA extracted from scale clips was not affected by the size of the animal. My findings suggest that high quality DNA can likely be obtained from ventral scale clips for most species of snakes. The high molecular weight also allows the lower DNA yields accessible via scale clips to be amplified using whole genome amplification.
The Litter of Summers Past: The Moviegoer's Philosophy of History:

For The Moviegoer’s Binx Bolling, history seems at times to be nothing more than the ‘adulteration of events that clog time like peanuts in brittle’. At others, personal histories seem to shape people's constitutions. Bolling has abandoned his ‘vertical search’ of combing through history to find meaning in favour of a ‘horizontal search’ that treats such endeavours as ancillary. At the same time he only understands others by seeing them as the product of their historical dialectics. This complex use of history as both a vehicle of understanding and a veil that confuses more than it clarifies serves as one of the principal sources of Bolling's stasis throughout the novel.
Cognitive Outcomes In Children With Infantile Spasms: Successful Treatment Response Is Beneficial Regardless Of Etiology (P2.299)

Objective: A prospective study to determine the cognitive outcomes in children with Infantile Spasms (IS) based on treatment response. Background: Infantile Spasms (IS) pose significant risks for poor developmental outcome linked to symptomatic seizure etiology. The association of successful treatment on cognitive outcomes based on treatment response remains unclear. Design/Methods: IS cases were prospectively enrolled for observational study at a tertiary center (2013–2017). IS etiology was categorized as known or unknown. Initial treatment choice was either ACTH or Prednisolone (PSL) or Vigabatrin (VGB). Non-responders (NRESP) to the first treatment were switched to a second medication. The Responder (RESP) group were spasm free patients with EEG confirmation at 3 months from diagnosis. The Vineland-II was administered at diagnosis, and at 12 and 24 months of age to measure cognitive outcomes. Seizure and cognitive outcomes were compared between RESP and NRESP and based on seizure etiology. Results: Sixty patients were enrolled with 23% having unknown etiology. Mean age was 6.6 months and age at final follow up was 24 months. Initial treatment choice was ACTH (34), PSL (4) and VGB (22). Response rate was 74% (86% unknown vs 72% known etiology, p=0.5). At 12 months, 54% were seizure free. At 24 months, 40% were off medication and seizure free for more than 1 year. Vineland scores between RESP and NRESP was 73 vs. 77 (p=0.4) at diagnosis, 72 vs. 61 (p= Conclusions: Cognitive outcome is influenced by responder category. Non-responders demonstrated cognitive decline over time with poorer outcomes in the known etiology group, supporting the negative prognostic role of the symptomatic etiology group. Disclosure: Dr. Mittal has nothing to disclose. Dr. Asato has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sogawa has nothing to disclose.
What are we hiding behind the visual buffer strip?: forest aesthetics reconsidered

The forestry profession has no offical policy on forest aesthetics: Neither foresters nor the public have clear guidelines as to what a socially acceptable, actively managed forest should lookl ike. Hints of an impplicit policy can be found in the Society of American Foresters (SAF) position statements on timber harvesting and in various recommendations for best management practices found in state, federal, and industrial forestry publications. These implicit policies may send a hypocritical message to the public about the practice, intent, and ethics of forestry.
Neurosurgical Interventions for Chronic Pain Problems

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the neurosurgical intervention for chronic pain problems. Neurosurgery plays an important role in the management of chronic pain, although it is rarely considered as a first-line therapeutic approach. Advances in pain management have increased the available alternatives to neurosurgery, but at the same time have more clearly defined its role. The benefits of neurosurgical procedures for the relief of pain, particularly procedures that involve destruction of neurologic tissue, are often restricted to patients whose symptoms are related to cancer and whose life expectancy is limited. The applications of neurosurgery for chronic pain of nonmalignant origin are limited. Terminal cancer patients are unique in that the benefits of pain relief may outweigh the risks and consequences of neurologic deficit and deafferentation pain. Even in this select group of patients, the need for neurosurgical intervention has been reduced by innovations in pharmacologic therapy and multidisciplinary treatment. Cranial neuralgias and the reflex sympathetic dystrophies are unique among nonmalignant causes of chronic pain, in that neuroablation often provides semipermanent relief in carefully screened patients.
Sampling depth of a diffuse reflectance spectroscopy probe for in-vivo physiological quantification of murine subcutaneous tumor allografts

Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) is a probe-based spectral biopsy technique used in cancer studies to quantify tissue reduced scattering (μs′) and absorption (μa) coefficients and vary in source–detector separation (SDS) to fine-tune sampling depth. In subcutaneous murine tumor allografts or xenografts, a key design requirement is ensuring that the source light interrogates past the skin layer into the tumor without significantly sacrificing signal-to-noise ratio (target of ≥15 dB). To resolve this requirement, a DRS probe was designed with four SDSs (0.75, 2.00, 3.00, and 4.00 mm) to interrogate increasing tissue volumes between 450 and 900 nm. The goal was to quantify percent errors in extracting μa and μs′, and to quantify sampling depth into subcutaneous Balb/c-CT26 colon tumor allografts. Using an optical phantom-based experimental method, lookup-tables were constructed relating μa,μs′, diffuse reflectance, and sampling depth. Percent errors were <10 % and 5% for extracting μa and μs′, respectively, for all SDSs. Sampling depth reached up to 1.6 mm at the first Q-band of hemoglobin at 542 nm, the key spectral region for quantifying tissue oxyhemoglobin concentration. This work shows that the DRS probe can accurately extract optical properties and the resultant physiological parameters such as total hemoglobin concentration and tissue oxygen saturation, from sufficient depth within subcutaneous Balb/c-CT26 colon tumor allografts. Methods described here can be generalized for other murine tumor models. Future work will explore the feasibility of the DRS in quantifying volumetric tumor perfusion in response to anticancer therapies.
Role of Posterior Ligamentous Reinforcement in Proximal Junctional Kyphosis: A Cadaveric Biomechanical Study.

Study design Cadaveric biomechanical study. Purpose The purpose of this study was to biomechanically evaluate the effect of preserving or augmenting the interspinous ligament (ISL) and supraspinous ligament (SSL; ISL/SSL) complex between the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) and UIV+1 using a cadaveric model. Overview of literature Adult spinal deformity is becoming an increasingly prevalent disorder, and proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) is a well-known postoperative complication following long spinal fusion. Methods Pure moments of 4 and 8 Nm were applied to the native and instrumented spine, respectively (n=8). The test conditions included the following: native spine (T7-L2), fused spine (T10-L2), fused spine with a hand-tied suture loop through the spinous processes at T9-T10, and fused spine with severed T9-T10 ISL/SSL complex. Results The flexion range of motion (ROM) at T9-T10 of the fused spine loaded at 8 Nm increased by 62% compared to that of the native spine loaded at 4 Nm. The average flexion ROM at T9-T10 for the suture loop and severed ISL/SSL spines were 141% (p=0.13) and 177% (p=0.66) of the native spine at 4 Nm, respectively (p-values vs. fused). Conclusions Transection of the ISL/SSL complex did not significantly change flexion ROM at the proximal junctional segment following instrumented spinal fusion. Furthermore, augmentation of the posterior ligamentous tension band with a polyester fiber suture loop did not mitigate excessive flexion loads on the proximal junctional segment. We postulate that the role of the posterior ligamentous tension band in mitigating PJK is secondary to the anterior column support provided by the vertebral body and intervertebral disc.
A Comparison of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Volumes on Cognitive Performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two different acute bouts of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on the Stroop Color Word task and Critical Flicker Fusion (CFF) threshold test. Twenty-five recreationally active subjects (12 men, 13 women; age 23 ± 2.79 years; body mass index 25.03 ± 3.15 kg m−2) were recruited for this study. The acute bouts of HIIT included low-volume (LV) and moderate-volume (MV) sessions. They each had a work to rest ratio of 1:1 min, and exercise was performed at 85% maximal heart rate. The LV session included five intervals, and the MV session included ten intervals. Prior to and after exercise, subjects completed the CFF test and Stroop task. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine the effect of time and volume on test performance. CFF results showed a significant main effect for volume condition across pre/post trials (p = .006), with the MV having a higher average CFF threshold (37.73 ± .63 Hz) compared to LV (36.79 ± .68 Hz). Stroop results showed no main effect of volume condition or interaction (both p > .05) but revealed a significant main effect of time for mean reaction time (RT) total, mean RT congruent/incongruent, and mean RT control (all p .05). The results show that low- and moderate-volume HIIT have similar effects on post-exercise measures of executive function. Our results suggest that the volume of HIIT needed to elicit executive function performance gains may be lower than suggested in previous research.
Applications of PNA-laden nanoparticles for hematological disorders.

Safe and efficient genome editing has been an unmitigated goal for biomedical researchers since its inception. The most prevalent strategy for gene editing is the use of engineered nucleases that induce DNA damage and take advantage of cellular DNA repair machinery. This includes meganucleases, zinc-finger nucleases, transcription activator-like effector nucleases, and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR/Cas9) systems. However, the clinical viability of these nucleases is marred by their off-target cleavage activity (≥ 50% in RNA-guided endonucleases). In addition, in vivo applications of CRISPR require systemic administration of Cas9 protein, mRNA, or DNA, which presents a significant delivery challenge. The development of nucleic acid probes that can recognize specific double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) regions and activate endogenous DNA repair machinery holds great promise for gene editing applications. Triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs), which were introduced more than 25 years ago, are among the most extensively studied oligomeric dsDNA-targeting agents. TFOs bind duplex DNA to create a distorted helical structure, which can stimulate DNA repair and the exchange of a nearby mutated region—otherwise leading to an undesired phenotype—for a short single-stranded donor DNA that contains the corrective nucleotide sequence. Recombination can be induced within several hundred base-pairs of the TFO binding site and has been shown to depend on triplex-induced initiation of the nucleotide excision repair pathway and engagement of the homology-dependent repair pathway. Since TFOs do not possess any direct nuclease activity, their off-target effects are minimal when compared to engineered nucleases. This review comprehensively covers the advances made in peptide nucleic acid-based TFOs for site-specific gene editing and their therapeutic applications.
Signs and Wonders in Britain’s Age of Revolution : A Sourcebook

Signs and Wonders in Britain’s Age of Revolution is an original collection of primary sources from the era encompassing the political, religious, and social tumult of the English Civil War. With a focus on Britain in the seventeenth century and covering topics such as astrology, scurrilous pamphlet wars, witch-hunts and trials, and the execution of King Charles I, Signs and Wonders investigates published "strange and true" accounts that existed alongside more traditionally studied historical events. Including fully edited and annotated texts of carefully selected popular pamphlets, the sourcebook is accompanied by guided introductory essays for each of the thematically divided chapters. With more than two dozen woodcut images, Signs and Wonders enables students to pursue in-depth primary source analysis of this rich period of history, when the supernatural was woven into the lives of those participating in or viewing the tumultuous political and religious events of the mid-17th century. In this collection of popular pamphlets, battles in the sky, witches, monstrous births, and apparitions stand side-by-side with the major political and religious events that make up the standard histories of the era, allowing a fuller perspective on these early modern narratives and their interpretation (and exploitation) by the heated presses of 17th-century Britain. Signs and Wonders in Britain’s Age of Revolution is essential reading for all students of early modern Britain.
AI education matters: biductive computing with prolog

Prolog is a great language to include in an undergraduate AI course. Its logical programming paradigm challenges students to write code in a way that is usually very different from their other courses. Students struggle with its approach but, in my experience, come to appreciate its ability to handle a broad range of AI tasks elegantly.
Experimental Results of Interference Mitigation Using Ultra-Wideband Spreading

We present measurement results for a novel ultrawideband (UWB) low-cost transmit/receive architecture with reduced power and hardware requirements that includes interference mitigation and accommodates multiple users. Specifically, hardware prototype is presented with measurements. To assess the systems performance and impact of the spreading/despreading process, a noise analysis conducted for the transmitter and receiver chains. Specifically, Bit-Error-Rate (BER) curves are generated from an Over-the-Air (OTA) communication link showing interference-to-signal ratios (gain margin) improved by at least 16 dB.
Understanding and Bridging the Language and Terminology Gap Between Health Professionals and Consumers Using Social Media

The advancement of the Internet and the social media has engaged the general public in their own healthcare more than ever. People actively seek health information online, form online patient communities to share experiences, and seek social support. Nevertheless, the limited health literacy of lay people makes it difficult for them to find the relevant health information, understand and reconcile conflicting findings. To improve health literacy and reduce the language barriers for lay people, it is important to understand the language and terminology gap between health professionals and consumers. eHealth literacy, which is defined as the ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise health information from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing or solving a health problem, is an important factor of the gap. This chapter discusses eHealth literacy, its measurements, as well as methods and practice of harnessing social media to understand and bridge the terminology gap between professionals and consumers. This chapter also discusses future opportunities for developing health applications for consumers that are more adaptive to their health literacy level while preserving the accuracy of the information.
The characteristics of spatial-temporal distribution and cluster of tuberculosis in Yunnan Province, China, 2005–2018

Tuberculosis (TB) makes a big challenge to public health, especially in high TB burden counties of China and Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). The aim of this study was to identify the spatial-temporal dynamic process and high-risk region of notified pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), sputum smear-positive tuberculosis (SSP-TB) and sputum smear-negative tuberculosis (SSN-TB) cases in Yunnan, the south-western of China between years of 2005 to 2018. Meanwhile, to evaluate the similarity of prevalence pattern for TB among GMS. Data for notified PTB were extracted from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention (CISDCP) correspond to population information in 129 counties of Yunnan between 2005 to 2018. Seasonally adjusted time series defined the trend cycle and seasonality of PTB prevalence. Kulldorff’s space-time scan statistics was applied to identify temporal, spatial and spatial-temporal PTB prevalence clusters at county-level of Yunnan. Pearson correlation coefficient and hierarchical clustering were applied to define the similarity of TB prevalence among borders with GMS. There were a total of 381,855 notified PTB cases in Yunnan, and the average prevalence was 59.1 per 100,000 population between 2005 to 2018. A declined long-term trend with seasonality of a peak in spring and a trough in winter for PTB was observed. Spatial-temporal scan statistics detected the significant clusters of PTB prevalence, the most likely cluster concentrated in the northeastern angle of Yunnan between 2011 to 2015 (RR = 2.6, P < 0.01), though the most recent cluster for PTB and spatial cluster for SSP-TB was in borders with GMS. There were six potential TB prevalence patterns among GMS. This study detected aggregated time interval and regions for PTB, SSP-TB, and SSN-TB at county-level of Yunnan province. Similarity prevalence pattern was found in borders and GMS. The localized prevention strategy should focus on cross-boundary transmission and SSN-TB control.
Comparative functional skeletal morphology among three genera of shrews: implications for the evolution of locomotor behavior in the Soricinae (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae)

The clade comprising the soricid tribes Blarinellini (Blarinella) and Blarinini (Blarina and Cryptotis) is notable within the Soricidae (Eulipotyphla) for the large proportion of reportedly semifossorial species. To better define locomotor modes among species in these two tribes, we quantified purported locomotor adaptations by calculating 23 functional indices from postcranial measurements obtained from museum specimens of Blarina and Blarinella and published measurements for 16 species of Cryptotis. We then analyzed relative ambulatory–fossorial function of each species using principal component analyses and mean percentile rank (MPR) analysis of the indices. Species within the Blarinellini–Blarinini clade exhibit a graded series of morphologies with four primary functional groupings that we classified as “ambulatory,” “intermediate,” “semifossorial,” and “fossorial.” To obtain a preliminary overview of evolution of locomotor modes in this group, we mapped MPRs on a composite phylogeny and examined the resulting patterns. That analysis revealed that the most recent common ancestor of the Blarinellini–Blarinini clade most likely had an intermediate or semifossorial locomotor morphology. Individual subclades subsequently evolved either more ambulatory or more fossorial morphologies. Hence, evolution of locomotor traits within this clade is complex. Multiple shifts in locomotor mode likely occurred, and no single directional tendency is apparent either among the major modes or in levels of complexity.
The Veteran and the Novice: Investigating Teacher-Coach Role Conflict from Two Perspectives.

This study examined two physical educators/coaches’ (one veteran and one induction) perceptions of their two roles. Role socialization theory (Richards, 2015) was used to determine how different roles are socially constructed and contextually bound, how individuals are socialized into their roles, and how socialization affects others’ view of the participants. Triangulation, peer debriefing, member checking, and an audit trial ensured trustworthiness. Data analysis was conducted following Merriam and Tisdell (2016). Analysis revealed three major themes: time conflicts, relationship conflicts, and the value of the role was dependent on the environmental context.Subscribe to TPE
Dynamic Multistate Models With Constant Cross-Product Ratios: Applications to Poverty Status.

Cross-product ratios (αs), which are structurally analogous to odds ratios, are statistically sound and demographically meaningful measures. Assuming constant cross-product ratios in the elements of a matrix of multistate transition probabilities provides a new basis both for calculating probabilities from minimal data and for modeling populations with changing demographic rates. Constant-α estimation parallels log linear modeling, in which the αs are the fixed interactions, and the main effects are calculated from relevant data. Procedures are presented showing how an N state model’s matrix of transition probabilities can be found from the constant αs and (1) the state composition of adjacent populations, (2) (N – 1) known probabilities, (3) (N – 1) known transfer rates, or (4) (2N – 1) known numbers of transfers. The scope and flexibility of constant-α models makes them applicable to a broad range of demographic subjects, including marital/union status, political affiliation, residential status, and labor force status. Here, an application is provided to the important but understudied topic of poverty status. Census data, separately for men and women, provide age-specific numbers of persons in three poverty statuses for the years 2009 and 2014. Using an estimated transition matrix that furnishes a set of cross-product ratios, the constant-α approach allows the calculation of male and female poverty status life tables for the 2009–2014 period. The results describe the time spent in each poverty state and the transitions between states over the entire life course.
7 – Lessons Learned

Publisher Summary This chapter offers observations on overall dynamics in four decades of Clean Air Act implementation. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) management of National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), certification of state-administered implementation plans, and regulations for toxic air emissions have reinforced its preeminent role. State governments responded by establishing or expanding programs to attain those standards within federally mandated time frames. The Clean Air Act also placed unprecedented demands on industries to reduce emissions regardless of costs or currently available technologies. Major corporations and their respective trade organizations escalated environmental affairs to top-level management concerns. The EPA consults continually with research and applied scientists to determine the NAAQS. This role focuses on overall policy with structured input from industries, trade and multistate associations, governments, and other interests. The agency partners with states, tribal nations, and industrial representatives on issues ranging from controlling diesel emissions to improving visibility in national parks. The U.S. experience in air pollution control provides well-established precedent for determining criteria pollutants and NAAQS based on scientific evidence. Trade associations, state representatives, and environmental advocates may contest the merits of research methods, causation, or engineering feasibility. However, the processes for policy development focus on open exchange to advance the technical basis of regulation. While litigation remains an option for resolving major differences, this alternative can be a latter resort rather than initial strategy to resolve or limit policy conflicts.
Performing School Failure: Using Verbatim Theatre to Explore School Grading Policies.

This article describes how dramatic writing and performance practices can be used to reshape qualitative interview data into a verbatim theatre performance with the intent of drawing attention to social movements in education. The performance described in the article reveals the consequences of a punitive educational policy agenda and addresses the emotional toll school grading and other neoliberal policies have had on teachers at a school in the southwestern United States. A primary objective is to examine and explore how verbatim dramatic writing and performance tactics can amplify current issues and social dilemmas and evoke an emotional response in the absence of dramatic action. The methods of writing a script from qualitative data are presented for other scholars and educators who intend to create performances from data.