cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stability of rhodopsin in detergent solutions.

The thermal stability of lipid-free rhodopsin in solutions of a homologous series of alkyltrimethylammonium bromide detergents and one nonionic detergent, dodecyl-β-maltoside, has been studied as a...
Extreme Convection and Tropical Climate Variability: Scaling of Cold Brightness Temperatures to Sea Surface Temperature

AbstractChanges in tropical convective events provide a test bed for understanding changes of extreme convection in a warming climate. Because convective cloud top in deep convection is associated with cold brightness temperatures (BTs) in infrared window channels, variability in global convective events can be studied by spaceborne measurements of BTs. The sensitivity of BTs, directly measured by an Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) window channel, to natural changes (the seasonal cycle and El Nino–Southern Oscillation) in tropical sea surface temperature (SST) is examined. It is found that tropical average BTs (over the ocean) at the low percentiles of their probability distributions scale with tropical average SSTs (higher SST leading to colder BTs), with the lower percentiles being significantly more sensitive to changes in SST. The sensitivity is reduced for high percentiles of BT and is insignificant for the median BT, and has similar magnitudes for the two natural changes used in the study. The r...
Inter-Operator Segmentation Differences Impact Wall Shear Stress Distributions in Patient-Specific Computational Fluid Dynamic Models

The link between hemodynamic forces, notably wall shear stress (WSS), and atherogenesis is well established. Patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of human vasculature has attracted recent attention because it allows investigators to determine areas at risk for plaque formation and subsequent rupture [1]. Non-invasive in vivo imaging methods such as magnetic resonance (MR) angiography allow acquisition of vascular geometry and cross-sectional velocity such that a CFD model can determine the spatial distribution of WSS. WSS may then be correlated with phenomena such as wall thickening.© 2009 ASME
Sensitive detection of methane for atmospheric and biological applications: assessment of sensing technologies in the near and mid-infrared region

We show sensitive detection of methane using laser based spectroscopy systems. We compare two regimes of sensitive detection in 1654 nm and 7843 nm wavelength range, in the near infrared and mid-infrared region of spectrum.
Toward a critical neuroscience of ‘addiction’

Early to mid-twentieth century studies on the neurophysiology of the role of conditioned cues in relapse, conducted at the Addiction Research Center in Lexington, Kentucky, were the historical antecedents to today's neuroimaging studies. Attempts in the 1940s to see ‘what's going on in the brains of these addicts’ were formative for the field, as was foundational work done in the 1940s and 1950s by Abraham Wikler on conditioned cues, the role of what he called the ‘limbic system’ in relapse, and possible uses of narcotic antagonists to prevent relapse by extinguishing cues. This article sketches the historical context in order to situate continuities between historical antecedents and a current ethnographic case study focused on current neuroimaging studies of the role of ‘craving’ – and neural processes that precede conscious ‘craving’ and occur ‘outside awareness’ – in relapse conducted by Anna Rose Childress at the Treatment Research Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The article showcases the incommensurability between claims that ‘addiction’ is a matter of individual choice, and claims that it is a neurochemical disorder disruptive of volition. Neuroscientists offer scientific vocabulary and imagery that both shape and respond to the social experience of addiction. The conclusion considers the value of moving toward a critical neuroscience more cognizant of the social worlds in which ‘addiction’ occurs, not in the restricted sense of ‘social factors’ but through awareness of the social–situational contexts and relationships within which ‘addictions’ are experienced and studied.
Computer Applications to Fermentation Processes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses modeling, control, and parameter estimation for computer-coupled fermentors and, in particular, explores the area of fermentation optimization. The chapter presents, using the Purdue system as an example, a description of the important features of computer-coupled fermentors for use in academic and institutional environments, where usually more fundamental engineering questions are examined. The report by Dobry and Jost elaborated on the choices in design and system requirements of a computer-coupled fermentation system emphasizing features needed for industrial purposes. Similar feelings on this topic have been expressed by Jefferis. Also, much information on the efforts at standardizing the software and hardware interfaces for computer control can be found in the annual reports of workshops held by the Purdue Laboratory for Applied Industrial Control headed by T. J. Williams. The current system at Purdue was designed to permit considerable flexibility and accuracy with relative ease of operation.
Correlated-Participating-Orbitals Pair-Density Functional Method and Application to Multiplet Energy Splittings of Main-Group Divalent Radicals.

Predicting the singlet–triplet splittings of divalent radicals is a challenging task for electronic structure theory. In the present work, we investigate the performance of multiconfiguration pair-density functional theory (MC-PDFT) for computing the singlet–triplet splitting for small main-group divalent radicals for which accurate experimental data are available. In order to define theoretical model chemistries that can be assessed consistently, we define three correlated participating orbitals (CPO) schemes (nominal, moderate, and extended, abbreviated as nom, mod, and ext) to define the constitution of complete active spaces, and we test them systematically. Broken-symmetry Kohn–Sham DFT calculations have also been carried out for comparison. We found that the extended CPO-PDFT scheme with translated on-top pair-density functionals have smaller mean unsigned errors than weighted-average broken-symmetry Kohn–Sham DFT with the corresponding exchange-correlation functional. The accuracy of the translated...
Strategies for providing culturally appropriate pharmaceutical care to the Hispanic patient

As the American Hispanic population grows, the need for health care services for individuals who do not speak English is becoming increasingly apparent. Spanish-speaking persons encounter difficulties accessing health care. This article focusses on the special needs of the Spanish-speaking individual in the health care system and presents strategies for providing culturally appropriate care.
Starting the Conversation: A Shift in Paradigm

The past several decades have seen much concern over sexual violence. Current policy narrowly focuses on recidivistic sex crimes and has done little to address the overall problem of sexual violence. Not only have current policy measures had little impact on sexual violence, but in some cases they appear to make the problem worse in that they destabilize offenders and thus inadvertently increase offenders’ risk of recidivism. Furthermore, it is estimated that the large majority of sex crimes are committed by first time sex offenders and thus laws that are focused on recidivistic sex offenders are diverting scarce resources away from much needed prevention initiatives. In this first chapter we will introduce the central thesis of the book—that we need to carefully evaluate the menu of policy and prevention available and weigh the costs and benefits of different options. Underscoring our focus on how we can do better to prevent sexual violence, we then discuss why it is important to shift the dialogue in the field from what does not work to that of what is working and why.
Product Recall Decisions in Medical Device Supply Chains: A Big Data Analytic Approach to Evaluating Judgment Bias

This study investigates judgment bias (under-reaction or over-reaction) in product recall decisions by firms when they respond to adverse event reports generated by users of their products. We develop an integrative theoretical framework for identifying the sources of judgment bias in product recall decisions. We analyze user-generated reports (big and unstructured data) on adverse events related to medical devices, using a combination of econometric and predictive analytic methods. We find that (i) noisy signals in user feedback, that is, high noise-to-signal ratio, are associated with under-reaction likelihood; and (ii) user feedback related to adverse events characterized by high severity is associated with high over-reaction likelihood. We also identify conditions related to the situated context of managers that are associated with under-reaction or over-reaction likelihood. The findings of this study are consequential for firms and government regulatory agencies, in that they shed light on the sources of judgment bias in recall decisions, thereby ensuring that such decisions are made correctly and in a timely manner. Our findings also contribute toward improving the post-launch market surveillance of products (e.g., medical devices) by making it more evidence-based and predictive.
Serum cholesterol level and mortality in U.S. men

Source Citation Neaton JD, Blackburn H, Jacobs D,et al. Serum cholesterol level and mortality findings for men screened in the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Arch Intern Med. 1992 Jul;152...
A Threat to Vehicular Cyber Security and the Urgency for Correction

Abstract In the past decade, technologies in vehicles have been rapidly advancing creating both a new type of “on the road” entertainment and safer environment while driving. Technologies such as anti-lock brake systems, steering assist, and in some cases autonomous driving, manufactures nearly eliminated the dangers of driving. To maintain the advances in safe technologies, it is vital to establish a strong security system for automotive networks and is crucial to advance the state of the art in automobile security. Motivated by this, one of the main goals of this research paper is to define a threat environment for CAR networks by discussing the existing security vulnerabilities and threats/attacks that an automobile network is currently facing. To address these security challenges, we also present a distributed firewall system to protect a CAR network from both internal and external networks.
The loss of EBP50 expression potentiates cell transformation

2592 EBP50 is an adaptor protein containing two PDZ domains that interacts with the Ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family of proteins. The ERM proteins link membrane proteins to the actin cytoskeleton. They are involved in epithelial cell polarization, cell shape determination, and are important components of transduction pathways triggered by EGF and PDGF. It has been shown that PDGF stimulation induces ruffling of the cell membrane and that these actin-rich protrusions or ruffles are the major driving force for cell movements. Because EBP50 also binds to PDGF receptor and enhances its effect, we believe that EPB50 could be involved in ruffle formation and cell migration. We generated EBP50 deficient mice, in order to define the importance of the interaction between EBP50 and ERM proteins in cell growth and motility, as well as the effect on cell transformation. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from the EBP50 (−/−) and EBP50 (+/+) littermates were isolated from E14 embryos. After individual isolation, the MEFs with identical genotype were pooled and the resulting EBP50 (−/−) and (+/+) populations were immortalized with SV40 t-antigens. We performed migration and proliferation assays to characterized the EBP50 (−/−) and (+/+) MEFs in the parental, and SV40 t-antigen immortalized populations. We also studied the anchorage-independent growth of the immortalized by culturing these cells in soft agar for 5 weeks. The cell migration was studied using the wound-healing assay. No difference in proliferation between EBP50 (−/−) and (+/+) was apparent. However, we found alterations in the migration pattern of the parental and immortalized EBP50 (−/−) and (+/+) cells. Briefly, the migration of the EBP50 (−/−) MEFs is more spread and there is more cell movements compared with the (+/+); in the immortalized ones the migration of the EBP50 (−/−) MEFs is faster compared to the (+/+). In addition, only the EBP50 (−/−) MEFs were capable of forming colonies in soft agar, while no colonies grew in the EBP50 (+/+) plates. These findings clearly show that the lack of the EBP50 function potentiates cell transformation. Also that the EBP50 gene could act as a tumor suppressor gene in the cell. The molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are under investigation.
Tachyons without paradoxes

Tachyon paradoxes, including causality paradoxes, have persisted within tachyon theories and left little hope for the existence of observable tachyons. This paper presents a way to solve the causality paradoxes, along with two other paradoxes, by the introduction of an absolute frame of reference in which a tachyon effect may never precede its cause. Relativity for ordinary matter is unaffected by this, even if the tachyons couple to ordinary particles. Violations of the principle of relativity due to the absolute frame would appear only in the case of free tachyons.
Early levels of CD4, neopterin, and β2-Microglobulin indicate future disease progression

Reduced CD4 T cell level and increased serum neopterin and β2-microglobulin levels, which reflect immunological activation and dysregulation, are three important markers of HIV disease. The aim in this study is to delineate more clearly the relation of activation to future CD4 values and disease progression. By analyzing a cohort of 198 seroconverters from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study with 9 years' follow-up, the dynamic changes and levels of these three markers and their interrelationships are explored. We observed that the levels of markers in the first year after seroconversion have a much stronger impact on the progression of the disease than the preseroconversion marker levels. The actual change during the year after seroconversion is not as important as the final level reached during that year. The early levels of markers after seroconversion appear to be good indicators of the subsequent course of disease as defined by CD4 level and slightly better than the quantitative changes following seroconversion or the changes in the period 1 to 2.5 years after seroconversion. To investigate the variation between subjects, the 198 seroconverters were stratified into three approximately equal-sized groups in 12 ways based on their pre- and postseroconversion levels and changes in the three markers. The group with the highest CD4 level within a year after seroconversion maintains the highest CD4 level 8 years after seroconversion. The group with the lowest level of neopterin or β2-microglobulin in this period has much higher future CD4 counts than the other two groups. The level of markers during the first year after seroconversion has a high predictive power for AIDS onset. Substantial differences in the hazards of AIDS are found between the groups with the highest and lowest CD4 count, neopterin, and β2-microglobulin following seroconversion. The three markers are generally correlated throughout the postseroconversion period but can provide distinct information. High current levels of neopterin or β2-microglobulin tend to be associated with low future CD4 count, while current levels of CD4 count have less association with future neopterin and β2-microglobulin levels.
Complementary and Integrative Treatments: Otitis Media

Acute otitis media is diagnosed frequently in childhood with peak incidence between 6 and 15 months of age. It is the most common reason for physician visits and antibiotic prescriptions in children, with an excess of $100 spent per episode. In this article we discuss current concepts of complementary and alternative medicine as they apply to otitis media. A thorough literature review shows that, whereas many of these modalities are promising, few have been assessed with randomized controlled trials. Finally, we provide an algorithm that may be used in assessing and treating patients with acute otitis media.
Introduction to the Physics of Complex “Fluids”

The purpose of this presentation is to provide an introduction to the field of Complex Fluids. We survey the systems which are included in this conference with a discussion of the underlying physical principles which govern their behavior.
Proteomics and insect immunity

Insect innate immunity is both a model for vertebrate immunity as well as a key system that impacts medically important pathogens that are transmitted by insects. Recent developments in proteomics and protein identification techniques combined with the completion of genome sequences for Anopheles gambiae and Drosophila melanogaster provided the tools for examining insect immunity at a new level of molecular detail. Application of proteomics to insect immunity resulted in predictions of new roles in immunity for proteins already known in other contexts (e.g. ferritin, transferrin, Chi-lectins) and helped to target specific members of multi-gene families that respond to different pathogens (e.g. serine proteases, thioester proteins). In addition, proteomics studies verify that post-translational modifications play a key role in insect immunity since many of the identified proteins are modified in some way. These studies complement recent work on insect transcriptomes and provide new directions for further investigation of innate immunity.
Two Courses of Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guerin for Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Bladder

AbstractBacillus Calmette-Guerin intravesical immunotherapy is becoming the adjunctive treatment of choice for patients with recurrent superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. The recurrence rates following bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy reported to date vary widely but generally they fall within the 20 per cent range. The results of retreatment of bacillus Calmette-Guerin failures with a second 6-week course of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin have not been reported previously.We report the response rates of 61 patients treated with a single 6-week course of intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin, and 25 patients who failed to respond to the initial course and were treated with a second 6-week course. Intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy (120mg. Pasteur strain) was administered weekly for 6 weeks. No intradermal injections of bacillus Calmette-Guerin were given. Patients were followed with urinary cytology and bladder biopsy every 3 months. Patients with tumor at followup we...
E-Transcript Web Services System Supporting Dynamic Conversion Between XML and EDI

As XML becomes a standard for communications between distributed heterogeneous machines, many schools plan to implement Web Services systems using the XML e-transcript (electronic transcript) standard. We propose a framework that supports both XML e-transcript Web Services and existing EDI e-transcript systems. The framework uses the workflow engine to exploit the benefits of workflow management mechanisms. The workflow engine manages the e-transcript business process by enacting and completing the tasks and sub-processes within the main business process. We implemented the proposed framework by using various open source projects including Java, Eclipse, and Apache Software Foundation’s Web Services projects. Compared with traditional EDI systems, our proposed system was evaluated to have higher reusability and scalability and save developers time and cost. It also provides users with rich look and feel user interfaces.
Pasteurization Of Antithrombin III: Stabilization By Heparin And Lyotropic Anions

Pasteurization of Antithrombin III (AT III) for 10 hours at 60°C is necessary to reduce the risk of transfusion hepatitis. Addition of appropriate stabilizers can largely prevent the loss of antithrombin activity which otherwise occurs during pasteurization. Studies of the mechanism of denaturation and stabilization have been facilitated by the use of 1,8-anilinonaphthalene sulfonate (ANS) which binds weakly to the inhibitor and whose fluorescence undergoes a sigmoidal response to increasing temperature as the protein unfolds. The extent of the increase in ANS fluorescence correlated roughly with the loss of antithrombin activity and with the extent of protein aggregation as determined by high pressure exclusion chromatography. The midpoint, Td, of the thermal denaturation curve increased by 13 and 19°C in the presence of 0.5 M and 1.0 M sodium citrate respectively. Phosphate, sulfate, and EDTA were also strong stabilizers while the chaotropic anions, iodide and thiocyanate were potent destabilizers. Heparin, at 10 mg/ml, increased Td by 7°, presumbly through a direct binding mechanism. Reducing agents increased ANS fluorescence by an amount similar to that seen with thermally denatured samples, an effect which was inhibited by heparin but not by citrate. Furthermore, incorporation of 14C-iodoacetamide into AT III during thermal titration was coincident with the increase in ANS fluorescence suggesting that disulfide cleavage is the event which triggers the unfolding of the protein. Samples pasteurized for 10 hours at 60°C in the presence of 0.5 M and 1.0 M citrate retained full antithrombin activity but exhibited evidence of minor alterations in the ability to bind heparin.
Outcomes of Brachial Artery Access for Endovascular Interventions.

Background A percutaneous brachial artery (BA) approach is a suitable or even favorable alternative to femoral artery access when performing certain endovascular interventions. However, this approach may have a higher complication rate compared to femoral artery access. We analyzed our results using percutaneous BA approach for noncardiac endovascular interventions. Methods Between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2017, BA access was used in 157 cases performed on 136 patients. The procedures included 102 (65%) therapeutic interventions and 55 (35%) diagnostic studies. The vessels studied or treated included lower extremity arteries (48), the aorta and iliac arteries (45), mesenteric arteries (45), failing arterial revascularizations (24), renal arteries (9), subclavian arteries (8), carotid arteries (2), and visceral aneurysms (2), or in conjunction with endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR), fenestrated EVAR, or thoracic EVAR (8). More than 1 vessel was studied or treated in 34 cases. Sheath sizes included 5F in 38 (24%) cases, 6F in 93 (59%) cases, and 7F in 26 (17%) cases. Percutaneous puncture was utilized in 142 (90.4%) cases and planned surgical exposure with primary closure of the BA in 15 (9.6%) cases (10, 7F; 4, 6F; 1, 5F). Manual compression was used for hemostasis at the conclusion of all percutaneous cases. Results There were 2 (1.3%; 2/157 cases) deaths in the perioperative period, one due to myocardial infarction and the other from mesenteric ischemia. Access site complications occurred in 10.6% (15/142) of percutaneous cases, which required open surgical repair for bleeding (8) and BA thrombosis (7). There was an increased risk of complications with increasing sheath size in the percutaneous approach: 5.4% (2/37), 12.4% (11/89), and 12.5% (2/16) for 5F, 6F, and 7F sheaths, respectively (P = 0.49). None of the 15 patients who underwent surgical treatment suffered long-term vascular or neuropathic complications. Conclusions In our experience, percutaneous BA access was associated with a 10% complication rate with an increased risk of complications associated with increasing sheath size. There was approximately the same incidence of bleeding as thrombosis. For patients who require 6 or 7F sheaths via a BA approach, we recommend more liberal use of open surgical exposure and primary BA repair.
To Label or Not to Label: The Effect of Stance and Credibility Labels on Readers' Selection and Perception of News Articles

Social media sites use different labels to help users find and select news feeds. For example, Blue Feed, Red Feed, a news feed created by the Wall Street Journal, use stance labels to separate news articles with opposing political ideologies to help people explore diverse opinions. To combat the spread of fake news, Facebook has experimented with putting credibility labels on news articles to help readers decide whether the content is trustworthy. To systematically understand the effects of stance and credibility labels on online news selection and consumption, we conducted a controlled experiment to study how these labels influence the selection, perceived extremeness, and level of agreement of news articles. Results show that stance labels may intensify selective exposure - a tendency for people to look for agreeable opinions -- and make people more vulnerable to polarized opinions and fake news. We found, however, that the effect of credibility labels on reducing selective exposure and recognizing fake news is limited. Although originally designed to encourage exposure to opposite viewpoints, stance labels can make fake news articles look more trustworthy, and they may lower people's perception of the extremeness of fake news articles. Our results have important implications on the subtle effects of stance and credibility labels on online news consumption.
Contractile protein biochemistry in the Pollard Lab in Baltimore

We describe our search for the molecular mechanisms of cell motility with personal recollections of bucket biochemistry in Tom Pollards Lab at the Johns Hopkins, circa 1980.
Memorial Sloan Kettering-Frailty Index (MSK-FI): Validation and its relationship with postoperative outcomes of older survivors of cancer.

172Background: Older cancer patients are at higher risk for poor postoperative outcomes. We tested the validity and utility of Memorial Sloan Kettering-Frailty Index (MSK-FI) in this setting. Methods: In a single institution, prospective cohort study, patients age 75+ received comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) by the Geriatrics service during preoperative evaluation. The MSK-FI was developed based on the modified Frailty Index, incorporating 10 comorbid conditions and one item related to basic and instrumental activities of daily living. With the total score ranging from 0 to 11, a score of ≥ 3 was considered frail. We validated the MSK-FI against the CGA, and assessed the relationship between MSK-FI frailty with short term (hospital length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission) and long-term (overall survival) postoperative outcomes utilizing multivariable linear, logistic, and cox regression models, adjusting for age, duration of surgery, American Society of Anesthesiologists physica...
Special Subsets of ℝ

The purpose of the chapter is to explore those special subsets of ℝ (preeminently, but not exclusively, intervals) that prove to be most useful in the study of the functions of calculus.
Probing the Substrate Promiscuity of Isopentenyl Phosphate Kinase as a Platform for Hemiterpene Analogue Production

Isoprenoids are a large class of natural products with wide-ranging applications. Synthetic biology approaches to the manufacture of isoprenoids and their new-to-nature derivatives are limited due to the provision in nature of just two hemiterpene building blocks for isoprenoid biosynthesis. To address this limitation, artificial chemo-enzymatic pathways such as the alcohol-dependent hemiterpene (ADH) pathway serve to leverage consecutive kinases to convert exogenous alcohols into pyrophosphates that could be coupled to downstream isoprenoid biosynthesis. To be successful, each kinase in this pathway should be permissive of a broad range of substrates. For the first time, we have probed the promiscuity of the second enzyme in the ADH pathway-isopentenyl phosphate kinase from Thermoplasma acidophilum-towards a broad range of acceptor monophosphates. Subsequently, we evaluate the suitability of this enzyme to provide unnatural pyrophosphates and provide a critical first step in characterizing the rate-limiting steps in the artificial ADH pathway.
Science and Social Media

He Jiankui et al. conducted an experiment that resulted in the birth of the first human babies with germline gene editing. Initial and predominant communications of their work occurred via social media and outside of the norms for reviewing, approving, and engaging around work in science. This case provides an opportunity to reflect on the evolving and increasing presence of social media in science, its strengths, weaknesses, and the potential to develop applications that improve how we review, approve, and engage around the work of science. Social media use in science presents significant challenges. The potential benefits of addressing these challenges and developing new social media tools include greater transparency, access, and engagement-and could nurture the public's trust. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2019;8:1226&1229.
Termite Evolution: A Primal Knock on Wood or a Hearty Mouthful of Dirt.

Summary Termite success is inexorably linked to their diet and symbiotic cellulolytic intestinal microorganisms. A new study reveals that soil feeding may have triggered a turnover in intestinal symbionts, rather than ectosymbiont cultivation, allowing termites to achieve ecological dominance.
Creating Your Own Programs

One of the thousands of programs written by professional programmers just won’t do, eh? Your own custom database (Chapter 11) isn’t powerful enough, hmmm? Well, aren’t we special! In this chapter, I’ll survey some of the tools used to “roll your own” programs for the Palm and Pocket PC. No, you won’t learn how to write software—my goal is to help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of each of your options. While there are dozens of minor languages, most are not well implemented or serve a particular niche. The programming environments discussed next are the most popular and useful.
Safety of Plasma Infusions in Parkinson's Disease.

Background Young plasma infusions have emerged as a potential treatment for neurodegenerative disease, and convalescent plasma therapy has been used safely in the management of viral pandemics. However, the effect of plasma therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD) is unknown. Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the safety, tolerability, and feasibility of plasma infusions in people with PD. Methods A total of 15 people with clinically established PD, at least 1 cognitive complaint, and on stable therapy received 1 unit of young fresh frozen plasma twice a week for 4 weeks. Assessments and adverse effects were performed/reported on and off therapy at baseline, immediately after, and 4 weeks after the infusions ended. Adverse effects were also assessed during infusions. The primary outcomes were safety, tolerability, and feasibility. Exploratory outcomes included Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Part III off medication, neuropsychological battery, Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39, inflammatory markers (tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6), uric acid, and quantitative kinematics. Results Adherence rate was 100% with no serious adverse effects. There was evidence of improvement in phonemic fluency (P = 0.002) and in the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 stigma subscore (P = 0.013) that were maintained at the delayed evaluation. Elevated baseline tumor necrosis factor-α levels decreased 4 weeks after the infusions ended. Conclusions Young fresh frozen plasma was safe, feasible, and well tolerated in people with PD, without serious adverse effects and with preliminary evidence for improvements in phonemic fluency and stigma. The results of this study warrant further therapeutic investigations in PD and provide safety and feasibility data for plasma therapy in people with PD who may be at higher risk for severe complications of COVID-19. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Platelet hyperreactivity in women from families with premature atherosclerosis.

Objectives This study was designed to determine whether sex differences in platelet function exist in families with premature atherosclerosis. Compared with men, women have a greater risk of death and recurrent events following myocardial infarction and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The reasons for this sex discrepancy are unknown. Because blood platelets play a central role in the formation of pathologic thrombi at sites of ruptured atheromatous plaques, we postulated that sex differences in platelet function exist that may be partly responsible for the sex difference in coronary artery disease (CAD) outcomes. Methods We compared platelet reactivity in 400 asymptomatic men and women with family histories of premature CAD. Subjects were participants in the Johns Hopkins Sibling Study, a prospective investigation of coronary risk factors in asymptomatic, apparently healthy siblings of people with documented CAD. Results The platelets from women bound more fibrinogen in response to low and high concentrations of adenosine diphosphate. This sex difference was greater in whites than in African Americans. Age did not have an impact on these findings, although platelets from women 48 to 59 years old tended to bind less fibrinogen than those younger than 48 years. Female platelets also demonstrated greater spontaneous aggregation compared with male platelets, and women had higher levels of plasma thromboxane than men did. These differences were independent of smoking, hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, or aspirin use. Conclusions In asymptomatic individuals with family histories of premature CAD, platelets from women are more reactive than platelets from men. This observation cannot be explained by differences in cardiac risk factors.
Intrapersonal Mindfulness is Associated with Reduced Risk of Burnout among Central Appalachian Educators

Abstract Background National statistics suggest that up to 40% of new teachers will leave their school or the teaching profession within their first five years of teaching. Much of this attrition is associated with work-related burnout, some of which may be preventable with targeted worksite health interventions. Previous research suggests that mindfulness skills may be protective from burnout, ultimately reducing the likelihood of attrition from the profession. Methods This study compared the self-reported levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress with participants’ levels of interpersonal and intrapersonal mindfulness. A total of 144 participants completed the Professional Quality of Life Inventory and the Mindfulness in Teaching Inventory. Study participants included K-12 teachers in Eastern Kentucky. Odds Ratios and Relative Risks were calculated using Epi Info. Pearson correlations, linear regression, and ANOVA analyses were completed using SPSS. Chronbach's alpha values were also calculated to evaluate score reliability of the five constructs. Results Relative Risks and Odds Ratios of having secondary traumatic stress scores of “average/high” were significantly lower for those with high intrapersonal mindfulness scores (OR = 0.12, CI: 0.05–0.30; RR = 0.21, CI: 0.10–0.44). Those who reported high intrapersonal mindfulness scores were up to 11 times more likely to report “low” burnout than those who reported low intrapersonal mindfulness scores (OR = 11.58, CI: 5.06–26.52). Burnout neg- atively correlated with intrapersonal mindfulness (r = -0.616, p Conclusion Those who reported high levels of intrapersonal mindfulness had significantly reduced risk of burnout. These results will inform further research in the region regarding mindfulness practice and the experience of burnout among teachers in the region. Thus, mindfulness may be protective from occupation-related burnout for this population. Interventions informed by additional research could reduce the burden of occupation-related burnout and may ultimately contribute toward reduced attrition in the teaching profession.
Progress in National Policies Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals: Policies that Matter to Income and Its Impact on Health.

From education to working conditions, from income to discrimination, social determinants of health (SDH) shape the majority of health outcomes. Governments are often best positioned to address the ...
Analyzing partially paired data: when can the unpaired portion(s) be safely ignored?

Partially paired data, either with incompleteness in one or both arms, are common in practice. For testing equality of means of two arms, practitioners often use only the portion of data with compl...
Lexicon Development for COVID-19-related Concepts Using Open-source Word Embedding Sources: An Intrinsic and Extrinsic Evaluation.

Background: Scientists are developing new computational methods and prediction models to better clinically understand COVID-19 prevalence, treatment efficacy, and patient outcomes. These efforts could be improved by leveraging documented COVID-19–related symptoms, findings, and disorders from clinical text sources in an electronic health record. Word embeddings can identify terms related to these clinical concepts from both the biomedical and nonbiomedical domains, and are being shared with the open-source community at large. However, it’s unclear how useful openly available word embeddings are for developing lexicons for COVID-19–related concepts. Objective: Given an initial lexicon of COVID-19–related terms, this study aims to characterize the returned terms by similarity across various open-source word embeddings and determine common semantic and syntactic patterns between the COVID-19 queried terms and returned terms specific to the word embedding source. Methods: We compared seven openly available word embedding sources. Using a series of COVID-19–related terms for associated symptoms, findings, and disorders, we conducted an interannotator agreement study to determine how accurately the most similar returned terms could be classified according to semantic types by three annotators. We conducted a qualitative study of COVID-19 queried terms and their returned terms to detect informative patterns for constructing lexicons. We demonstrated the utility of applying such learned synonyms to discharge summaries by reporting the proportion of patients identified by concept among three patient cohorts: pneumonia (n=6410), acute respiratory distress syndrome (n=8647), and COVID-19 (n=2397). Results: We observed high pairwise interannotator agreement (Cohen kappa) for symptoms (0.86-0.99), findings (0.93-0.99), and disorders (0.93-0.99). Word embedding sources generated based on characters tend to return more synonyms (mean count of 7.2 synonyms) compared to token-based embedding sources (mean counts range from 2.0 to 3.4). Word embedding sources queried using a qualifier term (eg, dry cough or muscle pain) more often returned qualifiers of the similar semantic type (eg, “dry” returns consistency qualifiers like “wet” and “runny”) compared to a single term (eg, cough or pain) queries. A higher proportion of patients had documented fever (0.61-0.84), cough (0.41-0.55), shortness of breath (0.40-0.59), and hypoxia (0.51-0.56) retrieved than other clinical features. Terms for dry cough returned a higher proportion of patients with COVID-19 (0.07) than the pneumonia (0.05) and acute respiratory distress syndrome (0.03) populations. Conclusions: Word embeddings are valuable technology for learning related terms, including synonyms. When leveraging openly available word embedding sources, choices made for the construction of the word embeddings can significantly influence the words learned.
Equity and Social Justice in Developing Theories

This chapter presents an analysis of the ideological structures that shape theory development in nursing and proposes that theory, particularly situation-specific theory, can reach beyond structures and systems that sustain inequities. Specific characteristics of situation-specific theory are examined in light of the emancipatory approaches that address social injustice.
Pyrolysis of bio-derived dioxolane fuels: A ReaxFF molecular dynamics study

Abstract Alkyl-substituted 1,3-dioxolanes, including 4,5-dimethyl-2-pentan-3-yl-1,3-dioxolane (Fuel 1), 4,5-dimethyl-2-pentyl-1,3-dioxolane (Fuel 2), and 2-(heptan-3-yl)-4,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane (Fuel 3), have been recently suggested as potential biodiesels. In this paper, we investigate the initial pyrolysis of the alkyl-substituted 1,3-dioxolanes at high temperatures using ReaxFF molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. We analyze the decomposition rate, reaction mechanism, and product distribution in the pyrolysis of the three alkyl 1,3-dioxlanes. The three fuels primarily decompose to 4,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane radical and hydrocarbons derived from the alkyl side-chains. The further decomposition of 4,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolane radical primarily leads to 2-C4H8 and CO2 within a few decomposition steps. The hydrocarbon product distribution is significantly affected by the molecular structure of the alkyl side-chain, which would have a strong influence on the sooting tendency of these fuels. The ReaxFF simulations predict that the order of sooting tendency would be Fuel 3 > Fuel 1 > Fuel 2, which agrees with the measured sooting tendency trend. Based on the pyrolysis mechanism identified by ReaxFF, we propose a new alkyl dioxolane, 4-hexyl-5-methyl-1,3-dioxolane (Fuel 4), which might produce even less soot, by modifying the molecular structure of Fuel 2. Our ReaxFF simulation shows that Fuel 4 produce much less C4H8, an effective non-aromatic soot precursor, than Fuel 2. Moreover, more carbon atoms are bonded to each oxygen atom in Fuel 4 than Fuel 2, which would help reduce soot yield by removing more carbon atoms from the soot-producing pool of species. The major decomposition pathways identified in this work can be used to develop chemical kinetic models for 1,3-dioxolane based compounds, as biodiesel components, applicable to combustion engine simulations. We also demonstrate that the chemical kinetic insight offered by ReaxFF simulations can be used to design new fuel molecules with more desired properties.
Fomepizole as an adjunct in acetylcysteine treated acetaminophen overdose patients: a case series.

INTRODUCTION Acetaminophen (N-acetyl-para-aminophenol or APAP) is the leading cause of acute liver failure worldwide. Standard therapy for APAP overdose is with IV N-acetylcysteine (NAC). However, overdose patients treated with NAC can still incur hepatotoxicity in some circumstances. Fomepizole has proven safety in methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning and is a potent CYP2E1 and c-Jun-N-terminal Kinase (JNK) inhibitor that is effective even in the metabolic phase. METHODS We present a prospective case series of 14 consecutive, high-risk patients who had elevated APAP levels after overdose who were treated with fomepizole as an adjunct to standard IV-NAC. The attending toxicologist utilized clinical judgement to determine the use of fomepizole, especially if APAP levels persisted due to altered half-life or risk factors for toxicity. RESULTS There were no unfavorable outcomes in any patient, which were better than expected. CONCLUSIONS This case series has demonstrated the safety of fomepizole in high-risk APAP overdose. The efficacy of fomepizole needs to be further elucidated through controlled clinical trials on a larger scale. In massive APAP overdoses, fomepizole should be considered as an adjunct due to the known failure rate of NAC and the safety profile of fomepizole.
From a Biological Point of View: Essays in Evolutionary Philosophy

Elliott Sober is one of the leading philosophers of science and is a former winner of the Lakatos Prize, the major award in the field. This new collection of essays will appeal to a readership that extends well beyond the frontiers of the philosophy of science. Sober shows how ideas in evolutionary biology bear in significant ways on traditional problems in philosophy of mind and language, epistemology, and metaphysics. Amongst the topics addressed are psychological egoism, solipsism, and the interpretation of belief and utterance, empiricism, Ockham's razor, causality, essentialism, and scientific laws. The collection will prove invaluable to a wide range of philosophers, primarily those working in the philosophy of science, the philosophy of mind, and epistemology.
A Novel Approach to Detecting Non-Recurrent Traffic Flow Patterns in Signalized Arterials

The performance of intelligent transportation systems is dependent on their adaptability to non-recurrent traffic flow events. A novel approach to detecting non-recurrent patterns observed in short-term traffic flow is presented. Traffic flow patterns are distinguished with respect to non determinism and high nonlinearity by analyzing the recurrent behavior of jointly considered series of volume and occupancy; these patterns are indicative of rare traffic events and are further studied. Findings show that rare patterns are likely to occur before traffic flow reaches congestion due to the increased traffic flow complexity. Regarding transitions, traffic flow has a frequent transitional nature, with interesting behavior in synchronized flow; results point to the existence of two regimes with different statistical characteristics with respect to determinism and nonlinearity. The observed statistical characteristics of traffic patterns can be a source of information on the short-term predictability of traffic flow for enhancing the accuracy of traffic forecasting models.
Trophic Factors and Brain Cell Survival

This chapter explains the role of trophic factors in protection and survival of brain cells. Several proteinaceous growth factors and cytokines, produced by neurons and/or glia in response to cerebral ischemia, have been shown to protect neurons against metabolic, excitotoxic, and oxidative insults in cell culture and animal models of ischemic stroke. The endogenous neuroprotective factors (ENFs) include fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs), tumor necrosis factors (TNFs), transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ), secreted forms of β-amyloid precursor protein (sAPPs), and protease nexin-1. Early cell culture studies of embryonic rat hippocampus show that basic FGF (bFGF) could protect neurons against insults relevant to the pathogenesis of ischemic brain injury including glutamate excitotoxicity, glucose deprivation, hypoxia, and oxidative insults such as exposure to iron. Extension of the cell culture findings to in vivo rodent models of focal cerebral ischemia and transient global forebrain ischemia demonstrates profound neuroprotective actions of centrally administered bFGF. Additional neurotrophic factors that protect brain cells against metabolic, excitotoxic, oxidative, and ischemic insults in cell culture and in vivo include BDNF, neurotrophins 3 and 5, IGFs, and PDGFs.
Measure and Integration

This chapter is devoted to the basic notions of measurable spaces, measure, and integration. The coverage is limited to what probability theory requires as the entrance fee from its students. The presentation is in the form and style attuned to the modern treatments of probability theory and stochastic processes.