cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapacuronium: first experience in clinical practice

Summary Rapacuronium is a new non-depolarizing relaxant with a fast onset and rapid recovery. It was approved for the market in the United States in August 1999. The reasons for its acceptance in practice and the niche it fills are the subject of this review. Rapacuronium has been accepted wherever rapid onset and short duration of action are advantageous. It has received the greatest acceptance in brief outpatient procedures that require tracheal intubation. The average time of recovery to a train-of-four ratio of 80% is about 25 min after a usual intubating dose of 1.5 mg kg−1, when block is reversed. Its rapid onset has led some to use it in rapid-sequence induction, but the exact place in this scenario is still being defined. Its spontaneous recovery is rapid enough that many practitioners do not reverse the block if the procedure is long enough. Data suggest that this is reasonable after 60 min and may even be earlier, even 30 min, if verified by monitoring. The main adverse effects of rapacuronium are bronchospasm, hypotension and tachycardia. Of these, only bronchospasm has had significant clinical impact. These effects are dose related and the recommended dose of 1.5 mg kg−1 may keep problems to a minimum. Because rapacuronium is a new drug with unique properties its use gradually increased in its first year. Because of the problems associated with succinylcholine, rapacuronium may have advantages for brief outpatient procedures and in cases where rapid termination of block is desired, provided its adverse effects can be minimized.
The Functional Theory of Counterfactual Thinking

Counterfactuals are thoughts about alternatives to past events, that is, thoughts of what might have been. This article provides an updated account of the functional theory of counterfactual thinking, suggesting that such thoughts are best explained in terms of their role in behavior regulation and performance improvement. The article reviews a wide range of cognitive experiments indicating that counterfactual thoughts may influence behavior by either of two routes: a content-specific pathway (which involves specific informational effects on behavioral intentions, which then influence behavior) and a content-neutral pathway (which involves indirect effects via affect, mind-sets, or motivation). The functional theory is particularly useful in organizing recent findings regarding counterfactual thinking and mental health. The article concludes by considering the connections to other theoretical conceptions, especially recent advances in goal cognition.
Competition Between Conjugation and M13 Phage Infection in Escherichia coli in the Absence of Selection Pressure: A Kinetic Study

Inter- and intraspecies horizontal gene transfer enabled by bacterial secretion systems is a powerful mechanism for bacterial genome plasticity. The type IV secretion system of Escherichia coli, encoded by the F plasmid, enables cell-to-cell contact and subsequent DNA transfer known as conjugation. Conjugation is compromised by phage infection that specifically targets the secretion machinery. Hence, the use of phages to regulate the spread of genes, such as acquired antibiotic resistance or as general biosanitation agents, has gained interest. To predict the potential efficacy, the competition kinetics must first be understood. Using quantitative PCR to enumerate genomic loci in a resource-limited batch culture, we quantify the infection kinetics of the nonlytic phage M13 and its impact on conjugation in the absence of selection pressure (isogenic set). Modeling the resulting experimental data reveals the cellular growth rate to be reduced to 60% upon phage infection. We also find a maximum phage infection rate of 3×10−11 mL phage−1 min−1 which is only 1 order of magnitude slower than the maximum conjugation rate (3×10−10 mL cell−1 min−1), suggesting phages must be in significant abundance to be effective antagonists to horizontal gene transfer. In the regime where the number of susceptible cells (F+) and phages are equal upon initial infection, we observe the spread of the conjugative plasmid throughout the cell population despite phage infection, but only at 10% of the uninfected rate. This has interesting evolutionary implications, as even in the absence of selection pressure, cells maintain the ability to conjugate despite phage vulnerability and the associated growth consequences.
ICU clinicians' perceptions of appropriateness of care and the importance of nurse-physician collaboration.

Context: Clinicians in intensive care units (ICUs) who perceive the care they provide as inappropriate experience moral distress and are at risk for burnout. This situation may jeopardize patient quality of care and increase staff turnover. Objective: To determine the prevalence of perceived inappropriateness of care among ICU clinicians and to identify patient-related situations, personal characteristics, and work-related characteristics associated with perceived inappropriateness of care. Design, Setting, and Participants: Cross-sectional evaluation on May 11, 2010, of 82 adult ICUs in 9 European countries and Israel. Participants were 1953 ICU nurses and physicians providing bedside care. Main Outcome Measure: Perceived inappropriateness of care, defined as a specific patient-care situation in which the clinician acts in a manner contrary to his or her personal and professional beliefs, as assessed using a questionnaire designed for the study. Results: Of 1651 respondents (median response rate, 93% overall; interquartile range, 82%-100% [medians 93% among nurses and 100% among physicians]), perceived inappropriateness of care in at least 1 patient was reported by 439 clinicians overall (27%; 95% CI, 24%-29%), 300 of 1218 were nurses (25%), 132 of 407 were physicians (32%), and 26 had missing answers describing job title. Of these 439 individuals, 397 reported 445 situations associated with perceived inappropriateness of care. The most common reports were perceived disproportionate care (290 situations [65%; 95% CI, 58%-73%], of which “too much care” was reported in 89% of situations, followed by “other patients would benefit more” (168 situations [38%; 95% CI, 32%-43%]). Independently associated with perceived inappropriateness of care rates both among nurses and physicians were symptom control decisions directed by physicians only (odds ratio [OR], 1.73; 95% CI, 1.17-2.56; P = .006); involvement of nurses in end-of-life decision making (OR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.60-0.96; P = .02); good collaboration between nurses and physicians (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.56-0.92; P = .009); and freedom to decide how to perform work-related tasks (OR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.59-0.89; P = .002); while a high perceived workload was significantly associated among nurses only (OR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.07-2.06; P = .02). Perceived inappropriateness of care was independently associated with higher intent to leave a job (OR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.04-2.63; P = .03). In the subset of 69 ICUs for which patient data could be linked, clinicians reported received inappropriateness of care in 207 patients, representing 23% (95% CI, 20%-27%) of 883 ICU beds. Conclusion: Among a group of European and Israeli ICU clinicians, perceptions of inappropriate care were frequently reported and were inversely associated with factors indicating good teamwork.
Joint Tracking of Pose, Expression, and Texture using Conditionally Gaussian Filters

We present a generative model and stochastic filtering algorithm for simultaneous tracking of 3D position and orientation, non-rigid motion, object texture, and background texture using a single camera. We show that the solution to this problem is formally equivalent to stochastic filtering of conditionally Gaussian processes, a problem for which well known approaches exist [3, 8]. We propose an approach based on Monte Carlo sampling of the nonlinear component of the process (object motion) and exact filtering of the object and background textures given the sampled motion. The smoothness of image sequences in time and space is exploited by using Laplace's method to generate proposal distributions for importance sampling [7]. The resulting inference algorithm encompasses both optic flow and template-based tracking as special cases, and elucidates the conditions under which these methods are optimal. We demonstrate an application of the system to 3D non-rigid face tracking.
Persistent mixed field polyagglutinability. An immunofluorescence study in genetically abnormal red cells.

. Immunofluorescence studies of erythrocytes from Mr. O. S. (group O blood donor) showing persistent mixed field polyagglutinability are reported. In addition to human and animal sera, various extracts from plant seeds (anti-TAh, anti-BHEe) and albumin glands of snails (anti-AHP, anti-ACN, anti-ACH) were applied. There was normal release of cryptantigens following RDE treatment of OS cells. Rh receptor D was normal. In contrast, the strong reaction with anti-A reagents from snails and Dolichos biflorus (anti-ADb) was abnormal. The presence of one or several components of A receptor substance is discussed. 50.75% of 6,353 OS cells were immunofluorescent positive with application of snail anti-A agglutinins. Transplantation chimerism appears unlikely. A mutation during early embryonal differentiation is suspected.
Validity issues in Meta‐Analysis: Suggestions for Research and Policy

The technique of meta‐analysis has been credited with resolving research issues in the areas of class size and the efficacy of psychotherapy, yet meta‐analyses have failed to form a consensus regar...
The effect of variation in slice thickness and interslice gap on MR lesion detection.

Lesion detection by MR imaging depends on the contrast-to-noise ratio of the voxels containing the lesion relative to those containing the background. When the lesion voxels are less than completely filled, the inherent contrast between lesion and background is modified by the filling factor. Lesion detection thus depends on lesion size, slice thickness, lesion position relative to slice, thickness of gap between slices, and inherent contrast between lesion and background. Using computer simulation, the effect of variation in the slice thickness and the interslice gap on lesion detection is modeled as a function of lesion size, filling factor, and inherent contrast. Detection of small, low-contrast lesions is shown to be most sensitive to partial volume effects and to be greatest with thin slices. Detection of high-contrast lesions is shown to be limited primarily by the presence of a gap between slices. For patients with diffusely distributed disease-e.g., the small, low-contrast lesions of multiple sclerosis-lesion detection is greater for thin slices, even with a gap, than for thick, contiguous slices.
A Generalized Additive Soil Depth Model for a Mountainous Semi-Arid Watershed Based Upon Topographic and Land Cover Attributes

Soil depth is an important input parameter in hydrological and ecological modeling. Presently, the soil depth data available in national soil databases (STATSGO, SSURGO) is provided as averages within generalized map units. Spatial uncertainty within these units limits their applicability for spatially distributed modeling. This work reports a statistical model for prediction of soil depth in a semi-arid mountainous watershed that is based upon topographic and other landscape attributes. Soil depth was surveyed by driving a rod into the ground until refusal at geo-referenced locations selected to represent the range of topographic and land cover variations in Dry Creek Experimental Watershed, Boise, Idaho, USA. The soil depth survey consisted of a model calibration set, measured at 819 locations over 8 sub-watersheds, and a model testing set, measured at 130 locations randomly distributed over the remainder of the watershed. Topographic attributes were derived from a Digital Elevation Model. Land cover attributes were derived from Landsat TM remote sensing images and high resolution aerial photographs. A Generalized Additive Model was developed to predict soil depth over the watershed from these attributes. This model explained about 50% of the soil depth spatial variation and is an important improvement towards solving the need in distributed modeling for distributed soil depth input data.
Global Barriers to Market Entry for Developing Country Businesses

Market entry barriers are crucial environmental factors that influence firms to make market entry decisions. While the importance of barriers differs depending on the market and the type of product being marketed, their impact in international markets has continued to increase during the last decade. This paper discusses the importance and implications of ten major market entry barriers in international markets for firms from developing countries.
Research for a Uniform Quality Grading System for Tires. III. Breaking Energy

Abstract A test procedure designed to classify tires according to their average breaking energy has been applied to a sample of passenger car tires. Data are reported on 127 different tires of all grades and types over a range of sizes. A scaling system is devised and applied to the data. It is found that the system leads to conclusions similar to those derived from the original data.
Transitions of care: optimizing the handoff from hospital-based teams to primary care physicians.

Caring for hospitalized patients and arranging their discharge plans have become increasingly complex. Primary care physicians should have a prominent role in the transition of their hospitalized patients.
Isolated cortical vein thrombosis in autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 2.

Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is not commonly associated with endocrine disorders. However, it has been reported in the setting of ketoacidosis and severe dehydration in children with type 1 diabetes as well as in hyperthyroidism.1,2
Motor cortical disinhibition with baroreceptor unloading induced by orthostatic stress

Unloading of the baroreceptors due to orthostatic stress increases corticospinal excitability. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of baroreceptor unloading due to orthostatic stress on intracortical excitatory and inhibitory pathways in the motor cortex. With transcranial magnetic stimulation, measures of intracortical excitability for a hand muscle were tested on 2 days in healthy young adults. Lower body negative pressure (LBNP) of 40 mmHg was applied during one of the days and not during the Control day. During application of LBNP heart rate and the low-frequency component of heart rate variability increased, while mean arterial blood pressure was maintained. In the resting state, LBNP decreased short-interval intracortical inhibition (SICI) and had no effect on intracortical facilitation (ICF) or short-interval intracortical facilitation (SICF) compared with the Control day. During isometric contraction, no effects of LBNP were observed on tested measures of intracortical excitability including SICI, SICF, and cortical silent period. It was concluded that baroreceptor unloading due to orthostatic stress results in diminished intracortical inhibition, at least in the resting muscle.
Coprophagy in the Cottontail

Coprophagy in the swamp rabbit ( Sylvilagus palustris paludicola ) as noted by Hamilton (Jour. Mamm., 36: 303, 1955) confirms the suspicion of Watson and Taylor (Science, 121: 314, Feb. 25,1955) that some of the North American Lagomorpha would be found to indulge in the habit of reingesting their own fecal pellets. The present note, encouraged by Dr. W. J. Hamilton, Jr., lends weight to. his assumption that “coprophagy is common to many North American lagomorphs.” In February and March, 1950, and again in …
Study on Multi-steps Inverse Simulation Approach for Drawing Axial Symmetric Parts

For the multi-steps inverse simulation issue,on the assumption of ideal forming theory,fundamental elements such as line and arc have been used to describe the generatrix of deep drawing parts,transfer shape and blank. furthermore, this generatrix has been assumed as the slipping line in the optimum.According to the axial symmetric feature,logarithm strain has been used to present radial,loop and thickness strains,R.Hill48 anisotropic yield criteria have been used to describe equivalent strain. Base on this,the FE equations with the node coordinates on the initial configuration as fundamental unknown variables have been formulated with the rigid-plastic material model.The optimum intermediate shapes,blank shape and strain distribution should be obtained through the solution of above FE equations.By applying this approach to practice,the availability of the method has been validated,meanwhile this method is simple and efficient.
Discouraging Results for High Dose External Beam Radiation Therapy in Low Stage (O and A) Bladder Cancer

Abstract Eight patients who received high dose external beam radiation therapy for low stage (O and A)bladder cancer with curative intent subsequently presented with recurrent tumors or complications of radiotherapy that led to cystectomy. The dismal results of high dose radiotherapy in these patients prompted us to review the published results for so-called definitive radiation therapy in patients with low stage bladder cancer. From this review and our own patients we conclude that high dose external beam radiotherapy is less than optimal treatment for patients with low stage bladder cancer. This is true even for the subset of patients with tumor characteristics that place them at high risk for the subsequent development of invasive disease.
Interpreting cardiac catheterization data. Part 1.

When pressures in the cardiac chambers and great vessels are measured by cardiac catheterization, characteristic curves are inscribed. Knowing how these pressure curves are altered in the presence of various heart diseases can help to establish a correct diagnosis.
Effects of ANG II, ETA, and TxA2 receptor antagonists on cyclosporin A renal vasoconstriction.

The renin-angiotensin system, endothelin (ET), and vasoconstrictor prostaglandins have been reported in separate studies to mediate the renal vasoconstrictor effect of cyclosporin A (CsA). However, direct comparison of the relative importance of these potential mediators has not been performed. In this study, the attenuating effects of comparable agonist-inhibiting doses of receptor antagonists for angiotensin II (ANG II), DuP-753 at 2.5 mg/kg, for ETA, BQ-123 at 0.5 mg/kg, and for thromboxane A2 (TxA2), SQ-29,548 at 1.6 mg.kg-1.h-1, or saline vehicle on acute CsA (20 mg/kg) renal vasoconstriction were compared in anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. All three receptor antagonists significantly limited the CsA-induced increase in renal vascular resistance; however, BQ-123 and SQ-29,548 were more effective than DuP-753. Because all three receptor antagonists demonstrated at least some attenuation of CsA-induced renal vasoconstriction, the potential role of acute CsA-related nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibition and nonspecific heterologous effects of specific receptor antagonists on other agonists were determined to exclude the possibilities that there was a general increased agonist sensitivity and that detection of a single or primary constrictor mediator was obscured by "crossover" receptor antagonist effects. CsA significantly reduced renal blood flow (39%) in the presence of the NOS inhibitor, N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, and there was negligible indication that receptor antagonists had nonspecific effects. It is concluded that CsA-induced renal vasoconstriction is complex and involves activation of multiple constrictor agonists independently or sequentially.
Aspects of the aggressive and sexual behaviour of alpheus heterochaelis say

Alpheus heterochaelis were collected near Beaufort, N.C. Males have a greater ratio of claw length/total body length than females. In field‐caught pairs, females tend to have longer bodies and males tend to have larger claws. In Y‐maze tests, males tend to seek females on the basis of chemical cues. The intensity of the sound produced by the large claw is positively correlated with claw size. Thus, stimulus intensity offers potential cues to the size of an opponent. Cine studies reveal that the large claw closes within 1.67–5.00 msec during snap production. An ensuing water jet travels at ca. 1.5–4.0 mm/sec and is directed toward an opponent. Size restrictions found in paired shrimp are hypothesized to result from an agonistic “balance”; established during initial contacts made prior to sex determination and pairing. The male's larger claw size/body size is explained by selection pressure favouring his mating with larger females who can produce more offspring.
Longitudinal functional brain imaging study in early course schizophrenia before and after cognitive enhancement therapy.

Abstract Objective Schizophrenia is characterized by impaired -social and non social cognition both of which lead to functional deficits. These deficits may benefit from cognitive remediation, but the neural underpinnings of such improvements have not been clearly delineated. Methods We conducted a functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study in early course schizophrenia patients randomly assigned to cognitive enhancement therapy (CET) or enriched supportive therapy (EST) and treated for two years. Imaging data over three time points including fMRI blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) data were acquired during performance of a cognitive control paradigm, the Preparing to Overcome Prepotency (POP) task, and functional connectivity data, were analyzed. Results During the two years of treatment, CET patients showed a continual increase in BOLD activity in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), whereas EST patients tended to show no change in prefrontal brain function throughout treatment. Increases in right DLPFC activity were modestly associated with improved neurocognition (β = .14, p = .041), but not social cognition. Functional connectivity analyses showed reduced connectivity between the DLPFC and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in CET compared to EST over the two years of treatment, which was associated with neurocognitive improvement. Conclusions. These findings suggest that CET leads to enhanced neural activity in brain regions mediating cognitive control and increased efficiency in prefrontal circuits; such changes may be related to the observed therapeutic effects of CET on neurocognitive function.
Automation of risk priority number calculation of photovoltaic modules

Statistical risk analysis on the field observed defects/failures in the photovoltaic (PV) power plants is usually carried out using a combination of several manual methods which are often laborious, time consuming and prone to human errors. In order to mitigate these issues, an automated statistical risk analysis based on FMECA (failure mode effect criticality analysis) is necessary. The automated program developed in this work using MATLAB generates about 20 different reliability risk plots in about 3–4 minutes without the need of several manual labor hours traditionally spent for these analyses. The primary focus of this project is to automatically generate Risk Priority Number (RPN) for each performance defect and safety failure based on two Excel spreadsheets: Defect rate spreadsheet; Degradation rate spreadsheet. Automation involves two major programs — one to calculate Global RPN (Sum of Performance RPN and Safety RPN) and the other to find the correlation of defects with I-V parameters' degradations. Based on the generated RPN and other reliability plots, warranty claims for material defect and degradation rate may be made by the system owners.
Complex predator invasion waves in a Holling–Tanner model with nonlocal prey interaction

Abstract We consider predator invasions for the nonlocal Holling–Tanner model. Predators are introduced in a small region adjacent to an extensive predator-free region. In its simplest form an invasion front propagates into the predator-free region with a predator–prey coexistence state displacing the predator-free state. However, patterns may form in the wake of the invasion front due to instability of the coexistence state. The coexistence state can be subject to either oscillatory or cellular instability, depending on parameters. Furthermore, the oscillatory instability can be either at zero wave number or finite wave number. In addition, the (unstable) predator-free state can be subject to additional cellular instabilities when the extent of the nonlocality is sufficiently large. We perform numerical simulations that demonstrate that the invasion wave may have a complex structure in which different spatial regions exhibit qualitatively different behaviors. These regions are separated by relatively narrow transition regions that we refer to as fronts. We also derive analytic approximations for the speeds of the fronts and find qualitative and quantitative agreement with the results of computations.
Techniques and Results of Endovascular In Situ Arch Fenestrations

Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has been widely applied to treat acute and chronic diseases of the aorta. Successful endovascular repair of the thoracic aorta requires adequate proximal and distal apposition of the endograft to healthy aorta. To achieve a good proximal seal, this can require coverage of one or more of the aortic arch vessels. In situ arch fenestration is an endovascular technique that involves endovascular modification of a thoracic endograft to achieve arch vessel revascularization. This is most commonly applied to the left subclavian artery (LSA) but can be utilized in any arch vessel. Fenestration of a thoracic endograft can be performed with needle puncture, laser energy, or radiofrequency wire followed by balloon angioplasty of the fenestration and placement of a covered stent across the endograft fenestration into the target vessel. Technical success of this method is most limited by aortic arch type, angulation of arch vessels, and target vessel anatomy. This chapter describes the technical aspects and results of in situ arch fenestration, history, pathology, anatomic limitations, patient selection, different methods of fenestration, a complex case, and application of new endovascular tools.
On the Design of Digitized Industrial Products as Key Resources of Service Platforms for Industrial Service Innovation

The pervasive infiltration of digital technology into physical products fundamentally changes the requirements regarding the design of physical products and their potential for service innovation. To effectively leverage the generative capacity of digitized industrial products in future smart service offerings, proper design decisions must be made when designing today’s products. The purpose of this paper is to report on a 2.5-year action design research project with an industrial forklift manufacturer, a software company, and an IoT consultancy. I elicit meta-requirements of digitized products arising from the industrial service business and derive design principles for digitized industrial products. This work empowers researchers to better understand the importance of generative product design to enable opportunities to innovative services. For managers, this work provides a blueprint for the design of digitized industrial products and raises awareness for generative product design in the digital age.
Back to the Future With Patty Smith Hill

“…but the greatest need of all, no matter what type of knowledge was required, was found to be the art of teaching.”—Hill, 1926, p. 72Generations after her passing, Patty Smith Hill (1868-1946) rem...
Optimising treatment with combinations of novel anti-kinase drugs and cytotoxic therapy

5395 Background There is considerable clinical interest in combining kinase inhibitors with cytotoxic drugs. The cyclin dependent kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibitor O 6 - cyclohexylmethylguanine (NU2058) has been shown to potentiate cisplatin cytotoxicity in vitro (Fishel et al. J Pharmacol Exp Ther., 312 :206-13, 2005), and the aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of potentiation. Methods Human SQ20b head and neck or LoVo colorectal tumour cells were exposed to 100 μM NU2058 for 2 hr and then a further 2 hr in the presence of the cytotoxic drug. Survival was measured by clonogenic assay. Platinum-DNA adducts and cellular platinum levels were analysed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Melphalan DNA adducts were measured by an ELISA, using an antibody specific for the N7 guanine adduct. Results While NU2058 alone was non-toxic to SQ20b cells, it increased the cytotoxicity of cisplatin with a LC 50 dose modification factor (DMF) of 3.1. Similarly, NU2058 (100 μM) increased the cytotoxicity of carboplatin (DMF 3.9), oxaliplatin (DMF 2.0), and melphalan (DMF 2.3), but not temozolamide or ionising radiation. Similar results were observed with LoVo cells. Treating cells with NU2058 immediately prior to or after, but not during, cisplatin treatment produced no potentiation of cytotoxicity. Platinum-DNA adduct levels immediately after cisplatin exposure were linearly related to cisplatin concentration, and NU2058 increased adduct levels 2-fold. NU2058 had no effect on the rate of loss of platinum-DNA adducts following drug exposure, when cells were incubated in drug-free media. NU2058 increased total intracellular platinum levels by 1.5-fold immediately after cisplatin treatment. Uptake studies suggested that NU2058 increased platinum influx, but there was no clear effect on the loss of platinum from cells upon incubation with NU2058 following cisplatin treatment. In contrast, NU2058 did not increase the formation of melphalan-DNA adducts despite causing a 2.3 fold increase in cytotoxicity. 200 structurally related CDK2 inhibitors were screened in combination with cisplatin in SQ20b cells. 60 compounds increased cisplatin cytotoxicity; however, no relationship between CDK2 inhibition and cisplatin potentiation was observed. Conclusions This study has shown that the potentiation of cisplatin by NU2058 in SQ20b and LoVo tumour cells is caused partly by enhanced drug-target interaction (i.e. increased platinum-DNA adduct levels), which is associated with an increased cisplatin influx, and partly by an altered response of cells to the DNA damage. Since NU2058 had no effect on melphalan DNA-adduct formation, we suggest that potentiation of melphalan by NU2058 was caused solely by an altered cellular response to DNA damage. The cellular target responsible for the effects of NU2058 has not been defined; however, it is unlikely to be CDK2.
Vocational Anticipatory Socialization, Self-Determination Theory, and Meaningful Work: Parents’ and Children’s Recollection of Memorable Messages About Work:

This study explored memorable messages that parents recall communicating and young adults recall receiving about meaningfulness and work, using the lens of self-determination theory (SDT). Analysis...
Lysosomal enzyme and inhibitor levels in the human trabecular meshwork.

PURPOSE To examine in the human trabecular meshwork lysosomal enzymes and one inhibitor of serine proteases that actively participate in the degradation of macromolecules into low molecular weight constituents. METHODS Using an avidin-biotin-peroxidase technique, lysosomal proteases and alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor were examined in the trabecular meshwork of 23 human eyes with donor ages ranging from 2 to 90 years. These eyes were categorized into three age groups ( or = 50 years). Histochemical staining for lysosomal hydrolases was also performed on frozen sections of 20 human eyes. The staining was analyzed by an image analyzer and the levels of lysosomal proteases were further measured by biochemical assays. RESULTS The trabecular meshwork from all the eyes stained intensely against antibodies to cathepsins B and G and alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor. The staining for elastase was weaker but evident. Image analyses revealed that the staining intensity for each protease or inhibitor was similar in all age groups. The staining in the uveal meshwork appeared to be the strongest among all the trabecular meshwork regions. Biochemical assays of tissue extracts confirmed that the enzyme and inhibitor levels were comparable among the three donor age groups. Activities of two lysosomal hydrolases, acid phosphatase and acid esterase, were also found in trabecular meshwork cells of 20 eyes. No apparent difference in enzyme activities was found with increasing age, and variation related to region was not observed. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated the age-independent distribution of a variety of lysosomal enzymes and a protease inhibitor in the human trabecular meshwork. The presence of these proteins suggests a possible role in the metabolic operation of the trabecular meshwork.
Anisotropic Elastic Solids

Properties of composite materials and their constituents often depend on both position and direction in a fixed system of coordinates. In the terminology of solid mechanics, such materials are heterogeneous and anisotropic. This chapter is concerned with the directional dependence, defined by certain material symmetry elements, and reflected in eight distinct forms of the stiffness and compliance matrices of elastic solids. Such materials include, for example, reinforcing fibers, particles and their coatings, or fibrous composites and laminates represented on the macroscale by homogenized solids with equivalent or effective elastic moduli. Identification of the positions of zero-valued coefficients, and of any connections between nonzero coefficients in those matrices is of particular interest. Different classes of crystals exhibit a much larger range of symmetries, derived from spatial arrangement of their lattices. Broader expositions of these topics can be found in several books, such as Love (1944), Lekhnitskii (1950), Green and Atkins (1960), Nye (1957, 1985), Hearmon (1961), Ting (1996), and Cowin and Doty (2007).
Laboratory observations of the photochemistry of parent molecules: A review

The photochemistry of possible parent molecules of comets has been reviewed. Quantum yields for many of the primary processes are unknown. Energy partitioning among the fragments has not been extensively investigated. A few of the studies have been performed as a function of the number of collisions that the excited molecules undergo, so that possible differences that may occur in a cometary environment may be ascertained.
Using integrative informatics to bridge toxicogenomics and disease biology

Traditional epidemiological methods for associating environmental exposures to human health are often limited in their ability to uncover molecular mechanisms that link molecular perturbations indu...
Verifying nilpotence

This paper describes a new procedure, based on string rewriting rules, for verifying that a finitely presented group G is nilpotent. If G is not nilpotent, the procedure may not terminate. A preliminary computer implementation of the procedure has been used to prove a theorem about minimal presentations of free nilpotent groups of class 3. Finally, it is shown that the ideas presented here may be combined with work of Baumslag et al. (1981) to prove that the polycyclicity of a finitely presented group can be verified.
Miles over mind: Transnational death and its association with psychological distress among undocumented Mexican immigrants

Objective: This study examined the association between transnational death and psychological distress among undocumented Mexican immigrants. The Minority Stress Model and a disenfranchised grief perspective were used as frameworks for this study.Method: Respondent driven sampling (RDS) was used to collect data from clinical interviews with 248 undocumented Mexican immigrants residing near the US-Mexico border.Results: After controlling for relevant covariates, experiencing transnational death was a significant predictor of clinically significant distress in this at-risk population.Conclusions: Our findings underscore the need to contextualize transnational death among undocumented immigrants from a perspective of disenfranchised grief that requires the development of contextually and culturally sensitive interventions aimed at addressing the high prevalence of transnational death and its associated distress in this marginalized population.
Brief Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration Screening Tools: A Scoping Review:

Recent research findings indicate that patients are willing to disclose their use of violence to health-care providers if asked. Health-care providers have a unique opportunity to screen their patients for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration; however, given the time constraints and limited personnel within medical offices and emergency-care facilities, instrument brevity is critically important. The development and evaluation of tools to screen for IPV perpetration in health-care settings, particularly brief instruments, is limited by the lack of adequate guidelines, clear institutional policies for screening, and reviews of the available literature. Given the need for validated measurement tools, we assessed the psychometric properties of measurement tools designed to quickly detect IPV perpetration by conducting a scoping review. Our search identified five measures meeting eligibility requirements. Inclusion criteria required that study information be published in a peer-reviewed journal, be published in English or Spanish languages, contain 10 or less items, report psychometric testing results, require no additional information, and be designed to detect IPV perpetration. We searched subject-specific databases and the bibliographies of relevant publications to identify studies. As part of appraising and synthesizing the evidence, we found most measures to have good reliability and validity. Most measures contained 2-5 items. Most studies were conducted in the United States and utilized an adequate sample size. There were considerable differences in how each of the measures determined a positive or negative screening. Gaps in the literature and areas for future research pertained to sample diversity, invariance testing, and practice guidelines for implementation.
Temporal analysis of mRNA expression profiles in Orientia infected C3HeB/FeJ mouse.

Scrub typhus causes up to 35% mortality if left untreated. One billion people living in the endemic regions are at risk. In spite of its heavy disease burden in some of the most populated areas in the world, there is no vaccine available. Although the disease can be effectively treated by proper antibiotics, timely and accurate diagnosis remains a challenge. Orientia tsutsugamushi infects a variety of mammalian cells in vitro and replicates in the cytoplasm of the infected cells. Microarray analysis has been used extensively to study host-pathogen interactions in in vitro models to understand pathogenesis. However there is a lack of in vivo studies. In this study, C3HeB/FeJ (C3H) mice were infected by O. tsutsugamushi via the intraperitoneal route and monitored gene expression at 10 different time points post infection. We observed two distinct types of expression profiles in the genes that we analyzed. There are two valleys (4–18 h and 2–4 days) with low number of differentially expressed genes (DEG) with three peaks with high number of DEG at 2 h, 1-day and 7-day post infection. Further analysis revealed that pathways like complement and coagulation cascade, and blood clotting cascade pathways showed significant global changes throughout entire time course. Real time quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-qPCR) confirmed the change of expression for genes involved in complement and coagulation cascade. These results suggested dynamic regulation of the complement and coagulation cascades throughout most of the time post infection while some other specific pathways, such as fatty acid metabolism and tryptophan metabolism, are turned on or off at certain times post infection. The findings highlight the complex interconnection among all different biological pathways. It is conceivable that specific pathways such as cell growth control and cell development in the host are affected by Orientia in the initial phase of infection for Orientia to grow intracellularly. Once Orientia is replicating successfully inside the host as infection progresses, the infection could activate pathways involved in cellular immune responses to defend for host cell survival and try to eliminate the pathogen.
Health literacy among visiting college students in the U.S.: A pilot study

Objective: This study examined the health literacy of international college students from Colombia visiting the United States. Participants: Thirty (30) students from a Colombian university completed the survey in October 2017. Methods: This pilot study surveyed international college students using the eHEALS and Newest Vital Signs (NVS) health literacy tools to determine the health literacy of this group. Although these students spoke English, a translator was provided. Results: The results show 63% of participants agreed they were confident with filling out health forms alone. In terms of finding helpful health resources on the Internet, 87% of participants felt they knew how to find health information, while 80% felt they knew where to find the resources. Conclusion: There was no association between the health literacy and the confidence of completing forms alone or the perception of using the Internet to answer health questions and knowing where to find helpful resources on the Internet.
Molecular MUX-Based Physical Unclonable Functions

Physical unclonable functions (PUFs) are small circuits that are widely used as hardware security primitives for authentication. These circuits can generate unique signatures because of the inherent randomness in manufacturing and process variations. This paper introduces molecular PUFs based on multiplexer (MUX) PUFs using dual-rail representation. It may be noted that molecular PUFs have not been presented before. Each molecular multiplexer is synthesized using 16 molecular reactions. The intrinsic variations of the rate constants of the molecular reactions are assumed to provide inherent randomness necessary for uniqueness of PUFs. Based on Gaussian distribution of the rate constants of the reactions, this paper simulates intra-chip and inter-chip variations of linear molecular MUX PUFs containing 8, 16, 32 and 64 stages. These variations are, respectively, used to compute reliability and uniqueness. It is shown that, for the rate constants used in this paper, although 8-state molecular MUX PUFs are not useful as PUFs, PUFs containing 16 or higher stages are useful as molecular PUFs. Like electronic PUFs, increasing the number of stages increases uniqueness and reliability of the PUFs.
American Indian Alcohol Use from a Sex-Specific Wellness Approach: Exploring Its Associated Physical, Behavioral, and Mental Risk and Protective Factors.

The top causes of death for American Indians (AIs), including heart and liver disease, are associated with alcohol use. Using the culturally based Framework of Historical Oppression, Resilience, an...
Abstract 1859: Elucidating the role of KMT2D as a novel therapeutic target for resistant HER2+ breast cancer

HER2 targeted agents have improved clinical outcomes for women with HER2+ breast cancer. However, drug resistance remains a critical challenge for curing HER2+ disease. Cancer stem cells (CSCs)-enriched during anti-HER2 therapy promote resistance and recurrence. Therefore, novel targets that drive survival of CSCs are needed. Recently, the histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2D (KMT2D) has been shown to be a prognostic marker for poor recurrence free survival in women with HER2+ breast cancer. Preliminary data showed that KMT2D RNA was increased in HER2+ CSC-enriched mammospheres compared to bulk cells. Further, KMT2D protein is increased in resistant compared to sensitive cells. These data suggest that KMT2D is necessary for survival of CSCs and resistance to anti-HER2 therapy. To address this hypothesis, RNAi-mediated knockdown of KMT2D was performed in trastuzumab sensitive and resistant cells. KMT2D depletion in sensitive cells resulted in almost complete blockade of proliferation in 2-D culture and CSC survival in 3-D culture. In contrast, proliferation and CSC survival was only moderately inhibited by KMT2D depletion in resistant cells. ChIP studies confirmed that KMT2D is enriched on the MYC enhancer in sensitive cells but only moderately in resistant cells. Based on these data, KMT2D is necessary for growth of HER2+ breast cancer and is possibly inactivated during acquisition of resistance. To determine the mechanism, RNA sequencing was performed in both sensitive and resistance cells expressing or depleted for KMT2D. Several differentially expressed genes that were positively or negatively regulated by KMT2D were identified. Specifically, transcript levels of ITGB6 and CLIC3 were decreased upon KMT2D knockdown, while PGR and AR transcripts were increased. Initial results showed that ITGB6 depletion resulted in decreased bulk cell proliferation and survival of CSCs similar to KMT2D knockdown. These results suggest that ITGB6 could be a direct target gene of KMT2D and thus mediates the phenotypic effects of KMT2D. Overall, our results suggest that KMT2D is necessary for both proliferation and CSC survival in HER2+ breast cancer sensitive to anti-HER2 therapy and a combination approach of targeting both HER2 and KMT2D could prevent enrichment of CSCs and acquired resistance. Citation Format: EMILY MA, Andrei Zlobin, Debra Wyatt, Jeffrey Ng, Andrew Dingwall, Clodia Osipo. Elucidating the role of KMT2D as a novel therapeutic target for resistant HER2+ breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 1859.
MLE of Jointly Constrained Mean-Covariance of Multivariate Normal Distributions

Estimating the unconstrained mean and covariance matrix is a popular topic in statistics. However, estimation of the parameters of $N_p(\mu,\Sigma)$ under joint constraints such as $\Sigma\mu = \mu$ has not received much attention. It can be viewed as a multivariate counterpart of the classical estimation problem in the $N(\theta,\theta^2)$ distribution. In addition to the usual inference challenges under such non-linear constraints among the parameters (curved exponential family), one has to deal with the basic requirements of symmetry and positive definiteness when estimating a covariance matrix. We derive the non-linear likelihood equations for the constrained maximum likelihood estimator of $(\mu,\Sigma)$ and solve them using iterative methods. Generally, the MLE of covariance matrices computed using iterative methods do not satisfy the constraints. We propose a novel algorithm to modify such (infeasible) estimators or any other (reasonable) estimator. The key step is to re-align the mean vector along the eigenvectors of the covariance matrix using the idea of regression. In using the Lagrangian function for constrained MLE (Aitchison et al. 1958), the Lagrange multiplier entangles with the parameters of interest and presents another computational challenge. We handle this by either iterative or explicit calculation of the Lagrange multiplier. The existence and nature of location of the constrained MLE are explored within a data-dependent convex set using recent results from random matrix theory. A simulation study illustrates our methodology and shows that the modified estimators perform better than the initial estimators from the iterative methods.
Dual-Polarization Reflectarray Antenna based on Interdigitated Surface

In this paper, dual-polarized reflectarray antenna using an interdigitated surface is investigated. It provides high pixel resolution with an acceptable amount of phases states. The benefits and challenges due to the pixel miniaturization are investigated. It has been proposed that the histogram of the phase delay arrangement might be useful to be provided for detecting more priority phase states. Also, pixel clustering is utilized to increase the number of phase states leading to better performance of the antenna.