cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diffusion Tensor and Volumetric Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using an MR-compatible Hand-Induced Robotic Device Suggests Training-Induced Neuroplasticity in Patients With Chronic Stroke

Stroke is the third leading cause of mortality and a frequent cause of long-term adult impairment. Improved strategies to enhance motor function in individuals with chronic disability from stroke are thus required. Post-stroke therapy may improve rehabilitation and reduce long-term disability; however, objective methods for evaluating the specific impact of rehabilitation are rare. Brain imaging studies on patients with chronic stroke have shown evidence for reorganization of areas showing functional plasticity after a stroke. In this study, we hypothesized that brain mapping using a novel magnetic resonance (MR)-compatible hand device in conjunction with state-of-the-art magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can serve as a novel biomarker for brain plasticity induced by rehabilitative motor training in patients with chronic stroke. This hypothesis is based on the premises that robotic devices, by stimulating brain plasticity, can assist in restoring movement compromised by stroke-induced pathological changes in the brain and that these changes can then be monitored by advanced MRI. We serially examined 15 healthy controls and 4 patients with chronic stroke. We employed a combination of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and volumetric MRI using a 3-tesla (3T) MRI system using a 12-channel Siemens Tim coil and a novel MR-compatible hand-induced robotic device. DTI data revealed that the number of fibers and the average tract length significantly increased after 8 weeks of hand training by 110% and 64%, respectively (p<0.001). New corticospinal tract (CST) fibers projecting progressively closer to the motor cortex appeared during training. Volumetric data analysis showed a statistically significant increase in the cortical thickness of the ventral postcentral gyrus areas of patients after training relative to pre-training cortical thickness (p<0.001). We suggest that rehabilitation is possible for a longer period of time after stroke than previously thought, showing that structural plasticity is possible even after 6 months due to retained neuroplasticity. Our study is an example of personalized medicine using advanced neuroimaging methods in conjunction with robotics in the molecular medicine era.
The Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Transcription Factor PIF5 Acts on Ethylene Biosynthesis and Phytochrome Signaling by Distinct Mechanisms

PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR5 (PIF5), a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, interacts specifically with the photoactivated form of phytochrome B (phyB). Here, we report that dark-grown Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings overexpressing PIF5 (PIF5-OX) exhibit exaggerated apical hooks and short hypocotyls, reminiscent of the triple response induced by elevated ethylene levels, whereas pif5 mutants fail to maintain tight hooks like those of wild-type seedlings. Silver ions, an ethylene receptor blocker, rescued the triple-response phenotype, and we show that PIF5-OX seedlings express enhanced levels of key ethylene biosynthesis enzymes and produce elevated ethylene levels. Exposure of PIF5-OX seedlings to prolonged continuous red light (Rc) promotes hypocotyl elongation relative to dark controls, the reciprocal of the Rc-imposed hypocotyl inhibition displayed by wild-type seedlings. In contrast with this PIF5-OX hyposensitivity to Rc, pif5 mutant seedlings are hypersensitive relative to wild-type seedlings. We show that this contrast is due to reciprocal changes in phyB protein levels in prolonged Rc. Compared with wild-type seedlings, PIF5-OX seedlings have reduced, whereas pif5 mutants have increased, phyB (and phyC) levels in Rc. The phyB degradation in the overexpressors depends on a functional phyB binding motif in PIF5 and involves the 26S proteasome pathway. Our data thus indicate that overexpressed PIF5 causes altered ethylene levels, which promote the triple response in darkness, whereas in the light, the interaction of photoactivated phyB with PIF5 causes degradation of the photoreceptor protein. The evidence suggests that endogenous PIF5 negatively regulates phyB-imposed hypocotyl inhibition in prolonged Rc by reducing photoreceptor abundance, and thereby photosensory capacity, rather than functioning as a signaling intermediate.
Effects of copper amine treatment on mechanical properties of PVC/wood-flour composites

Copper amine-treated wood flour was added to PVC [poly(vinyl chloride)] matrix in order to manufacture PVC/wood-flour composites. Effects of copper treatments on the mechanical properties of PVC-wood composites were evaluated. Unnotched impact strength, flexural strength, and flexural toughness of the composites were significantly improved by the wood-flour copper treatment. The optimum copper concentration range was 0.2 to 0.6 wt% of wood flour. Fractured surfaces were examined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). PVC/wood interfacial debonding was the main fracture mode of untreated wood-flour composites, whereas wood-particle pullout and breakage dominating the fractured surfaces of copper-treated wood-flour composites. On the fractured surfaces, more PVC could be found on the exposed copper-treated wood particles than on untreated wood, a result suggesting improved PVC-wood interfacial adhesion after copper treatments.
On Krikati and Siriono: A Reply to Lave

Jean Lave (AA 75:314-317, 1973) has commented critically on a study which I coauthored with F. G. Lounsbury (Scheffler and Lounsbury 1971). Lave's principal complaint is that we assume, "ethnocentrically," that classification on the basis of culturally posited relations of genealogical connection constitutes a distinct cultural system which can and must be analyzed independently of other systems of classification of interpersonal relationships present in the culture. She argues that certain Krikati data demonstrate the falsity of this assumption and she suggests that the assumption may be inapplicable in other cases as well. Unfortunately, she presents virtually no data in support of her interpretation of the Krikati case. It is especially critical that she does not present and discuss data relevant to her claim that, in Krikati culture, there is a "semantic domain" which includes both "genealogically based terms [and] terms whose denotata [naming relations] are not genealogical" (p. 316), and to her claim that genealogical and naming relations are equally "fundamental" or "basic" to the structure
Impact of Percutaneous Interventions for Pulmonary Artery Stenosis in Alagille Syndrome.

Objective The study aims to examine acute and midterm outcomes after percutaneous interventions for treatment of pulmonary artery stenosis (PAS) in patients with Alagille Syndrome (ALGS). Background PAS affects up to two thirds of ALGS patients. Responsiveness to transcatheter therapies may differ from other causes of PAS. To date, there has been no study to evaluate outcomes of transcatheter interventions on PAS exclusively in ALGS. Methods In this single-center series, we reviewed procedural, hemodynamic, and angiographic data from patients with ALGS and PAS from 2007 to 2011 who underwent an interventional catheterization. Minimal luminal diameter (MLD) was assessed pre- and postintervention, and at follow-up catheterization(s) when available. Acute and midterm response to high-pressure balloon angioplasty (HBA), bare metal stent (BMS) placement, and cutting balloon angioplasty (CBA) were assessed. Results Nine patients (median age 9.1 years) underwent 16 cardiac catheterizations with 34 interventions performed (20 HBA, 11 BMS, 3 CBA). There was a significant acute increase in MLD for all three modalities (42% HBA, P < .01; 91% BMS, P < .01; 58% CBA, P = .04). Follow-up data were available for 19 treated lesions at a median of 11 months. There was no significant difference in the improvement of MLD from baseline between the HBA and BMS groups, although in contrast to the BMS group, the HBA group showed continued interval vessel growth. Conclusions Transcatheter intervention for PAS in ALGS is generally safe and acutely effective. Although BMS implantation was associated with the greatest immediate improvement in MLD, HBA-treated vessels demonstrate interval growth, whereas BMS-treated lesions do not.
Working memory influences on cross-language activation during bilingual lexical disambiguation

This study investigated the role of verbal working memory on bilingual lexical disambiguation. Spanish–English bilinguals read sentences that ended in either a cognate or noncognate homonym or a control word. Participants decided whether follow-up target words were related in meaning to the sentences. On critical trials, sentences biased the subordinate meaning of a homonym and were followed by targets related to the dominant meaning. Bilinguals with high span were faster at rejecting unrelated targets when the sentences ended in a homonym, whereas bilinguals with low span were slower. Furthermore, error rates for bilinguals with low span showed cognate inhibition, while bilinguals with high span showed no effects of cross-language activation. Results demonstrated that bilinguals with high span benefit from shared lexical codes whether these converge on to a single semantic representation (cognates) or not (homonyms). Conversely, bilinguals with low span showed inhibition from the competing lexical codes, even when they converge onto a single semantic representation.
Enhancing DPF for near-replica image recognition

Dynamic Partial Function (DPF), which dynamically selects a subset of features to measure pairwise image similarity, has been shown to be very effective in near-replica image recognition. DPF, however, suffers from the one-size-fits-all problem: it requires that all pairwise similarity measurements must use the same number of features. We propose methods for enhancing DPF's performance by allowing different numbers of features to be selected in a pairwise manner. Through extensive empirical studies, we show that our three schemes: thresholding, sampling and weighting, and hybrid schemes of these three basic approaches, substantially outperform DPF in near-replica image recognition.
Grading the Government's Data Publication Practices

Barack Obama promised transparency and open government when he campaigned for president in 2008, and he took office aiming to deliver it. Today, the federal government is not transparent, and government transparency has not improved materially since the beginning of President Obama’s administration. This is not due to lack of interest or effort, though. Along with meeting political forces greater than his promises, the Obama transparency tailspin was a product of failure to apprehend what transparency is and how it is produced. A variety of good data publication practices can help produce government transparency: authoritative sourcing, availability, machine-discoverability, and machine-readability. The Cato Institute has modeled what data the government should publish in the areas of legislative process and budgeting, spending, and appropriating. The administration and the Congress both receive fairly low marks under systematic examination of their data publication practices. Between the Obama administration and House Republicans, the former, starting from a low transparency baseline, made extravagant promises and put significant effort into the project of government transparency. It has not been a success. House Republicans, who manage a far smaller segment of the government, started from a higher transparency baseline, made modest promises, and have taken limited steps to execute on those promises. President Obama lags behind House Republicans,
Attention and Visual Perception: The Availability of Features

Results from two experiments employing a location-cueing paradigm demonstrated that the features of a visual stimulus do not appear to be used for stimulus identification at a time prior to the localization of the stimulus by an attentional system. However, the experiments also revealed that a stimulus is processed (at least to some extent) prior to the arrival of attention at the stimulus. The results support the hypothesis that a visual stimulus must be located by an attentional system before results of initial processing of the stimulus can be used in identification. Implications for the design of visual display systems in which it is important for the user to identify stimuli both quickly and accurately are discussed.
Demographic Opportunities, Collective Action, Competitive Exclusion, and the Crowded Room: Lobbying Forms among Institutions

Two of the most notable changes in political interest communities in recent decades have been the rise of direct lobbying by institutions and the decline of collective lobbying via associations. These trends may be related to each other, since institutions can choose to lobby through either or both approaches. The shifting balance between direct and collective representation of institutional interests may signal important changes in how institutions perceive their interests, how those interests are pursued, and how diverse interests are aggregated in public policy. We present four theoretical perspectives - the demographic opportunity, collective action, competitive exclusion, and crowded room perspectives - to develop hypotheses about the relationship between these two forms of representation. We then employ both aggregate data on state lobby registrations and survey data on state lobbying by institutions to distinguish between these hypotheses. We find strongest support for the crowded room perspective, such that the relationship between direct and collective forms of interest representation tends to be one of mutualism rather than competition.
Rapid determination of biogenic amines in beer and juice by high performance liquid chromatography

Objective To establish an HPLC method for determination of biogenic amines(histamine,tyramine,putrescine,cadaverine,spermine,spermidine,tryptamine and phenethylamine) in beer and juice.Methods The best chromatograph conditions was selected to determine biogenic amines with a pre-column dansyl chloride derivation procedure.1,7-diaminoheptane was used as the internal standard(IS).Biogenic amines were separated by C18 column(250 mm × 4.6 mm ID,5 μm)and detected at 254 nm by diode array detector.Results The correlation coefficients of standard curve of the eight kinds of biogenic amines were greater than 0.999.The detection limits were 0.2 mg/kg(histamine was 0.4 mg/kg),the average recovery was 72.57%~104.7%,RSD was 2.51%~5.12%.Conclusion The method was simple,accurate and reliable for the determination of biogenic amines in beer and juice.
Off-pump coronary artery bypass: past, present and future of a controversial technology.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This review will examine the current role of off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) surgery compared with on-pump coronary artery bypass (ONCAB) surgery for the revascularization of ischemic myocardium. RECENT FINDINGS Recent studies have confirmed earlier findings that OPCAB is associated with less grafts per patient and less complete revascularization, and increased incidence of recurrent angina and need for repeat revascularization procedures, and more frequent rehospitalization for cardiac-related issues. OPCAB does not prevent postoperative renal dysfunction and is associated with worse long-term outcomes. Hospital costs are not reduced and are increased in those OPCAB patients who require intraoperative conversion to ONCAB procedures; however, when multiple arterial grafts are used and a complete revascularization is performed, OPCAB outcomes are equivalent to those of ONCAB procedures. SUMMARY OPCAB should only be performed by surgeons experienced in this technique in patients in whom a complete revascularization can be achieved; preferably with multiple arterial grafts.
Strain and Hole Gas Induced Raman Shifts in Ge–SixGe1–x Core–Shell Nanowires Using Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy

We report tip-enhanced and conventional Raman spectroscopy studies of Ge–Si0.5Ge0.5 core–shell nanowires in which we observe two distinct Ge–Ge vibrational mode Raman peaks associated with vibrations in the Ge nanowire core and at the Ge–Si0.5Ge0.5 interface at which a quantum-confined hole gas is formed. Tip enhanced Raman measurements show dramatically increased sensitivity to the modes at the Ge–Si0.5Ge0.5 interface and a shift in position of this mode due to plasmonic field localization at the tip apex and the resulting change in phonon self-energy caused by increased coupling between phonons and intervalence-band carrier transitions.
Adenylate cyclase-coupled beta adrenergic receptors effect of membrane lipid-perturbing agents on receptor binding and enzyme stimulation by catecholamines.

Binding of (-)-[3H]dihydroalprenolol, a potent competitive beta adrenergic antagonist, to sites in frog erythrocyte membranes has previously been demonstrated to possess the essential properties expected of binding to adenylate cyclase-coupled beta adrenergic receptors. The present studies were designed to test the effects of a variety of membrane lipid-perturbing agents on both beta adrenergic receptor binding and catecholamine-responsive adenylate cyclase in frog erythrocyte membranes. Digestion of membranes with phospholipases A, C, and D causes a dose-dependent decline in receptor binding capacity without altering receptor affinity. Amphotericin B, a nondegradative membrane lipid perturbant, also causes a dose-dependent decrease in (-)-[3H]dihydroalprenolol binding. Decrements in catecholamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity caused by these agents are always greater than decreases in basal and fluoride-sensitive enzyme activities. Decreases in (-)-[3H]dihydroalprenolol binding parallel the disproportionate reduction in catecholamine responsiveness of adenylate cyclase. By contrast, the polyene antibiotic Filipin appears to "uncouple" receptor binding and enzyme activation, since a marked reduction in isoproterenol-stimulated adenylate cyclase is not accompanied by a decrease in specific (-)-[3H]dihydroalprenolol binding. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The electron microscopic studies in consultation were performed by Dr. J. R. Sommer, Director, Veterans Administration EM Laboratory, Veterans Administration Hospital, Durham, N. C. The authors thank Dr. Mary Ellen Switzer for fibrinogen degradation studies and Dr. Patrick McKee for helpful discussion. The authors also acknowledge Mr. Michael Coverstone for technical assistance.
Community Capital and Local Economic Development Efforts

Actions by local groups and leaders constitute an essential but poorly understood element of many rural economic development efforts. Previous studies suggest that local development efforts can influence community changes, but questions remain about why localities differ in economic development efforts. Drawing upon community capital framework and human ecological theory, the purpose of this research was to examine the effects of community capital on economic development efforts in rural communities. Hierarchical regression results indicate that social capital, cultural capital, built capital significantly predict economic development effort to develop recreation and tourism and human services. Despite that, only built capital and natural capital predict effort to develop local business and industry – a keystone of rural development. Hypothesis that community capitals would predict economic development efforts than would be predicted by ecological variables alone was borne out.
Analysis of an Interactive Technology Supported Problem-Based Learning STEM Project Using Selected Learning Sciences Interest Areas (SLSIA)

This paper reports an analysis of an interactive technology-supported, problem-based learning (PBL) project in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) from a Learning Sciences perspective using the Selected Learning Sciences Interest Areas (SLSIA). The SLSIA was adapted from the “What kinds of topics do ISLS [International Society of the Learning Sciences] members study”? (ISLS, n.d.). The SLSIA is applied to analyze a case study, the interactive technology supported PBL simulation in water quality project the River of Life. This analysis using the SLSIA provides STEM education stakeholders with a reflective framework in designing interactive technology supported environments for PBL in STEM, and a platform for initiating thoughtful discussions on research and development efforts.
Draft Genome Sequence of Streptomyces sp. AVP053U2 Isolated from Styela clava, a Tunicate Collected in Long Island Sound.

ABSTRACT Streptomyces sp. AVP053U2 is a marine bacterium isolated from Styela clava, a tunicate collected in Long Island Sound. Here, we report a draft genome for this bacterium, which was found to contain a high capacity for secondary metabolite production based on analysis and identification of numerous biosynthetic gene clusters.
Evaluating cumulative and annual surgeon volume in laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Background Although there is a large body of published data demonstrating improved outcomes for complex operations when performed by high-volume surgeons at high-volume hospitals, the literature is mixed regarding whether this same relationship applies in less complex and more common surgeries such as laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods This study utilized the New York State Department of Health Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database to identify patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy for acute and chronic biliary pathology. Rates of perioperative outcomes were compared among 4 distinct categories of surgeons based on surgeon annual and cumulative volume: low cumulative/low annual, low cumulative/high annual, high cumulative/low annual, and high cumulative/high annual. Results A total of 150,938 patients undergoing operation by 3,306 surgeons at 250 hospitals across New York state were included for analysis from 2000–2014. There was no difference in adjusted 30-day in-hospital mortality, major events, procedural complications, bile duct injury, or reintervention rates between the 4 groups of surgeons. However, patients undergoing operation by high cumulative/high annual volume surgeons were less likely to experience 30-day readmission, prolonged duration of stay, and high charges when compared with low cumulative/low annual volume surgeons. Conclusion In New York state, increased surgeon annual and cumulative volume predicts lower rates of 30-day readmission, prolonged duration of stay, and high charges in laparoscopic cholecystectomy, but has no effect on in-hospital mortality, major events, bile duct injury, procedural complications, or reintervention. There is no evidence to support regionalization of this procedure as operative outcomes are comparable even in less experienced hands.
Complement Activation and STAT4 Expression Are Associated with Early Inflammation in Diabetic Wounds.

Diabetic non-healing wounds are a major clinical problem. The mechanisms leading to poor wound healing in diabetes are multifactorial but unresolved inflammation may be a major contributing factor. The complement system (CS) is the most potent inflammatory cascade in humans and contributes to poor wound healing in animal models. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 4 (STAT4) is a transcription factor expressed in immune and adipose cells and contributes to upregulation of some inflammatory chemokines and cytokines. Persistent CS and STAT4 expression in diabetic wounds may thus contribute to chronic inflammation and delayed healing. The purpose of this study was to characterize CS and STAT4 in early diabetic wounds using db/db mice as a diabetic skin wound model. The CS was found to be activated early in the diabetic wounds as demonstrated by increased anaphylatoxin C5a in wound fluid and C3-fragment deposition by immunostaining. These changes were associated with a 76% increase in nucleated cells in the wounds of db/db mice vs. controls. The novel classical CS inhibitor, Peptide Inhibitor of Complement C1 (PIC1) reduced inflammation when added directly or saturated in an acellular skin scaffold, as reflected by reduced CS components and leukocyte infiltration. A significant increase in expression of STAT4 and the downstream macrophage chemokine CCL2 and its receptor CCR2 were also found in the early wounds of db/db mice compared to non-diabetic controls. These studies provide evidence for two new promising targets to reduce unresolved inflammation and to improve healing of diabetic skin wounds.
Phospho-IkappaB Is Abnormally Expressed in Bone Marrow of CMML Patients.

Introduction: Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a heterogeneous group of bone marrow disorders currently grouped into the MDS/MPD overlap by WHO classification. Its clinical and laboratory features includes the presence of up to 20% blast in the bone marrow and the peripheral blood, a PB monocyte count >1000/mL, splenomegaly, variable reticulin fibrosis in the bone marrow and cytopenias. The exact pathogenesis remains in question and there are no effective therapies. Recent studies in certain myeloid disorders suggest that the nuclear transcription factor NFkB regulates cell survival, proliferation, and differentiation. It has been found to be highly expressed in AML and may serve as an important therapeutic target. Little is known about NFkB in other hematologic disorders, including CMML. Examination of NFkB activation in situ has been technically difficult due to lack of quality antibody reagents suitable for fixed tissues. Recently, phosphospecific antibodies have become available, which reflect the functional status of proteins. IkB regulates NFkB subunits by sequestering them in the cytoplasm. Phosphorylation of IkB by IKK results in release of NFkB and translocation to the nucleus. Thus, phospho-IkB (pIkB) is an indicator of NFkB activation. We studied the pattern of pIkB expression in CMML as a surrogate of NFkB activation. Methods: We identified a cohort of 24 CMML (CMML1=17; CMML2=7) patients and 9 healthy controls. Cases were characterized clinically and pathologically. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for pIkB was performed in trephine biopsies using a phosphor-specific antibody (Cell Signaling). The staining pattern was compared to normal bone marrow. We utilized JMP 5.1.2 statistical software to compare a variety of clinical and laboratory parameters. Results: The mean age of patients at diagnosis was 61 (range:38–72). Median WBC, Hgb, PLT, absolute monocytes were 18.6K/ul, 10.2g/dL, 93K/ul, 4K/ul respectively. As expected, the overall survival (OS) was short (mean OS = 11.1 months). Compared to normal bone marrow, pIkB was found to be abnormally activated in maturing granulocytic cells and was found to be present in cytoplasmic as well as nuclear locations. The mean % neutrophils that expressed pIkB was 36.6 compared to 14.9 for normal bone marrow (P Conclusions: An abnormal in situ pIkB expression pattern is present in CMML compared to normal bone marrow, suggesting abnormal activation of NFkB. Interestingly, maturing myeloid cell expression of pIKB was associated with higher WBC and absolute monocyte count. Further studies are warranted in examining the role of NFkB activation in CMML and potential therapeutic intervention in this pathway, such as with proteasome inhibitors.
Numerical simulation of earthquake sequences

Numerical simulation of earthquake occurrence using a one-dimensional fault model demonstrates that (a) the linear behavior of the magnitude-frequency relation is not an immutable law but rather is dependent on the mechanical properties of the fault, (b) “randomness” as measured by adherence to Poissonian statistics does not preclude useful prediction by statistical means, (c) the rate of occurrence of simulated earthquakes is in good agreement with the Kolmogorov model in which seismicity is related primarily to the stored elastic energy in a fault system, and (d) the occurrence of foreshocks and aftershocks can be well explained by the occurrence of stress-induced crack nucleation.
Volumetric analysis of olfactory neuroblastoma skull base laterality and implications on neck disease.

Objective To determine if the laterality of primary tumors in patients with olfactory neuroblastoma (ONB) influenced the pattern and development of neck disease. Methods Using a retrospective cohort study design from 1994 to 2015, the primary tumors of patients who either presented with or developed neck disease were volumetrically analyzed using iPlan software (version 3.0.0, BrainLAB, Feldkirchen, Germany) by two independent observers. Agreement of volume-derived sidedness was assessed with a kappa statistic, whereas agreement in volume-derived degree of tumor laterality was evaluated with an intraclass correlation coefficient. A one-sample t test was used to assess the difference in dominant percentage between the two observers. Results Sixty-one patients with histological diagnosis and treatment of ONB at our institution were identified. Twenty-four patients exhibited neck involvement, 13 of whom could be volumetrically analyzed. Tumors that were greater than 75% eccentric to one side all exhibited contralateral disease, whereas the majority of unilateral neck disease was associated with relatively midline masses. Within the entire cohort, ipsilateral level 2 lymph nodes displayed the highest involvement (83%, 20 of 24), followed by ipsilateral level 1 (54%, 13 of 24), contralateral level 2 (46%, 11 of 24), contralateral level 1 (21%, 5 of 24), and ipsilateral level 3 (21%, 5 of 24). Conclusion Ipsilateral neck involvement frequently was observed; however, the degree of ONB primary site laterality did not appear to have implications on the development of contralateral neck disease. Therefore, when considering elective therapy to the neck, ONB laterality should not be used to justify unilateral neck treatment. Level of Evidence 4. Laryngoscope, 2017
Abstract TP69: Minimum NIHSS Score To Qualify For IV tPA

BACKGROUND: Frequently patients with ischemic stroke are excluded from IV tPA therapy because of mild deficits. Often a minimal score on the NIHSS is used to identify mild stroke patients, but some argue to specially weight motor and language deficits. We examined the outcomes of patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) who did not receive IV tPA using four definitions of a “mild” deficit using the total and itemized NIHSS at baseline with the aim to identity patients with a mild deficit that highly predicts good outcome when not treated with thrombolysis. Additionally we examined if any single item on the NIHSS in mild stroke patients predict poor outcomes. METHODS: We included all adult patients with mild (NIHSS 0-4) AIS from the UCSD SPOTRIAS Database from 2004-2012; excluded patients who received thrombolysis (IV or IA) or had a pre-stroke mRS >0. We analyzed baseline demographics (age, sex, race, HTN, DM, afib), total NIHSS, NIHSS items (normal or abnormal) and 90-day mRS. We evaluated four definitions of mild deficits: 1) total NIHSS 0-4; 2) NIHSS 0-4 AND arm (Q5) AND leg weakness (Q6) 0-1, AND aphasia (Q9) 0-1; 3) NIHSS 0-4 AND Q5,6,9=0; 4) NIHSS 0-4 AND Q5+6+9 RESULTS: A total of 147 patients were included (definition #1), under mild #2 we identified 111, #3 78 and #4 106 patients. Good outcome was achieved in 70.8%, 70.3, 74.4% and 70.8% of each definition. No NIHSS item (0 vs >0) correlated with poor outcome in mild patients. CONCLUSION: We found no significant difference in outcome prediction when weighing motor and language deficit over the overall NIHSS
Demystifying the Monoclonal Gammopathies of Renal Significance

The monoclonal gammopathies of renal significance (MGRS) are paraprotein-mediated diseases of the kidney in patients who do not meet criteria for multiple myeloma or systemic lymphoma. The diagnosi...
Early Adult Offending and Employment among Serious Adolescent Offenders: An Examination of Adolescent Service Receipt, Attachments, and Perceptions

This study examines whether service experiences, attachments, and perceptions of the legal system are related to early adult outcomes for serious adolescent offenders. This study also examines how individual and social contextual factors are related to previous service experiences among these adolescent offenders. Data from the Pathways to Desistance study, a longitudinal study following 1354 serious adolescent offenders from two geographic locations, were used to identify factors related to youth service experiences, and to test whether these service experiences, youth attachments, and youth perceptions were related to adult self-reported offending and employment outcomes. Youth from more disadvantaged social contexts were more likely to report previous service receipt at baseline. While group service receipt was related to a higher likelihood of adult offending, residential service receipt was related to a lower likelihood of employment. Youth attachments were positively related to employment in adulthood, whereas youth perceptions (cynicism) were positively related to self-reported offending in adulthood. Positive attachments were related to positive adult outcomes (i.e., employment), while negative perceptions were related to negative outcomes (i.e., offending). Serious adolescent offenders have a complex set of needs across social contexts. This may suggest that a holistic approach to studying and serving juvenile delinquents would include a broad range of outcomes, and that effective services should also be complex in addressing not only the individual, but also the challenges within their social contexts.
Assessing the added predictive ability of a metabolic syndrome severity score in predicting incident cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and Jackson Heart Study

The severity of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) predicts future coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes independent of the individual MetS components. Our aim was to evaluate whether MetS severity conferred additional discrimination to existing scoring systems for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes risk. We assessed Cox proportional hazard models of CHD- and diabetes risk among 13,141 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study and the Jackson Heart Study, using the Framingham Risk Calculator, the American Heart Association’s Atherosclerotic CVD calculator, the American Diabetes Association diabetes risk score and an additional diabetes risk score derived from ARIC data. We then added a MetS-severity Z-score to these models and assessed for added risk discrimination by assessing Akaike information criterion, c-statistic, integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) and continuous net reclassification improvement (NRI). The MetS severity score appears to add to the predictive ability of individual CHD and diabetes risk scores. Using the IDI, MetS improved risk prediction for diabetes but not CHD risk. In all 4 scoring systems, MetS severity had a significant non-event NRI, improving the ability to exclude individuals without events. Assessing interactions between risk scores and MetS severity revealed that MetS severity was more highly associated with disease risk among those in the lowest quintiles of risk score, suggesting that MetS was particularly able to identify risk among individuals judged to be of low risk by existing algorithms. Mets severity improved prediction of diabetes more so than CHD. Incorporation of multiple risk predictors into electronic health records may help in better identifying those at high disease risk, who can then be placed earlier on preventative therapy.
Somatic Embryogenesis in Tobacco Callus

Long-term callus cultures of Nicotiana tabacum cv. Wisconsin 38 were utilized to examine the auxin and cytokinin requirements, as well as the light requirement for somatic embryogenesis. Initial observations indicated that somatic embryos were formed in callus cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with indoleacetic acid (IAA) (11.4 μM) and ienzylaminopurine (BA) (22.1 μM) in continuous light of ca. 100 μE/m2/sec at 25°C. After 4 weeks of culture, these embryos were transferred to either MS without hormones, or to MS with IAA (11.4 μM) and BA (0.04 μM), the latter being the maintenance medium for the normally dark-grown callus. The somatic embryos were then placed in culture under a 16:8 light:dark cycle at 25°C and regenerated into whole plantlets. Several plantlets grew to maturity, flowered, and set seed. The genetic stability of this seed has not yet been tested. This basic experiment has been successfully repeated 4 times.
SANDIA AND INFORMATION HANDLING

Publisher Summary Modern safeguards systems employ a large number of perimeter and interior sensors designed to notify the security operator of attempted intrusions into the secured area. Modern computer technology, and in particular the advent of microcomputers, has allowed the designer to improve system performance by processing the output of combinations of individual sensors. This technique requires the use of multiple sensors, each responding to a different physical phenomenon, to protect a given zone. Asymmetric or two-key systems utilize two keys that are derived mathematically in such a way that it is computationally infeasible using the most modern computers and computational techniques to derive the second key even if the first key is known. One of the keys is used at the transmitting station to encrypt a message, and the other key is used at the receiving station to decrypt the message. Using this technique, it is possible for an individual or business to publish one of the keys but keep the second key secure.
What It Takes to Join an International Value Chain: The Firm-Level Evidence

The previous chapter examined factors affecting global value chain participation that are mostly external to the firm, such as the role of a country’s transport infrastructure or the quality of its contracting institutions. Now we turn to determinants of GVC accession that are specific to the firms themselves, such as skills and capabilities. The theme of this chapter is that participation in international production networks typically demands skills and capabilities that often exceed levels found in firms that only serve the domestic market. While firms are responsible for the development of their own capacities, they also face constraints in attaining these capacities that include lack of information and coordination. In this chapter we discuss policy options for reducing these constraints.
Interest Groups And The Public’s Health

While there is now an extensive body of scholarship on the interestgroup approach to political processes, public health is one significant area of governmental activity that, to our knowledge, has not been brought under such analytical scrutiny.1 Partly this is what we sought to do in Chapter 10, especially when we discussed issues involving bureaucratic behavior. We seek to close the circle in this chapter by exploring the extent to which collective choices concerning public-health budgetary and regulatory processes can be brought within the rubric of the interestgroup theory of government. To advance a private-interest explanation of public-health processes is not to deny that those processes may serve some notion of public interest. Rather, the point is simply that any public-interest outcome can be reconciled with, and derived from, the pursuit of self interest by participants in public-health processes.
Automatically Fixing Errors in Glycoprotein Structures with Rosetta.

Summary Recent advances in single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryoEM) have resulted in determination of an increasing number of protein structures with resolved glycans. However, existing protocols for the refinement of glycoproteins at low resolution have failed to keep up with these advances. As a result, numerous deposited structures contain glycan stereochemical errors. Here, we describe a Rosetta-based approach for both cryoEM and X-ray crystallography refinement of glycoproteins that is capable of correcting conformational and configurational errors in carbohydrates. Building upon a previous Rosetta framework, we introduced additional features and score terms enabling automatic detection, setup, and refinement of glycan-containing structures. We benchmarked this approach using 12 crystal structures and showed that glycan geometries can be automatically improved while maintaining good fit to the crystallographic data. Finally, we used this method to refine carbohydrates of the human coronavirus NL63 spike glycoprotein and of an HIV envelope glycoprotein, demonstrating its usefulness for cryoEM refinement.
FDG PET/CT Course of Pembrolizumab-Associated Multiorgan Sarcoidosis

AbstractAn 80-year-old man with metastatic melanoma had been receiving treatment with pembrolizumab from September 2015 until June 2017. Series FDG PET/CT scans from March 7, 2017, to June 14, 2018, showed the course of biopsy-proven pembrolizumab-induced sarcoidosis. Reported here is the first case
Obesity and thyroid cancer.

e17029 Background: Obesity is a risk factor for a number of solid organ tumors, including breast and ovarian cancer. Potential mechanisms for the effect of obesity include elevated blood levels of ...
Silent Spring at 50, Chapter 9

This chapter from the book Silent Spring at 50 analyzes the 1950s struggle over US food policy between USDA and FDA and how that struggle set the stage for the impact of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Using a public choice/interest group analysis, the chapter examines how the two agencies reacted to the large scale transformation of US agriculture and food production during and following World War II. Just as agriculture underwent a dramatic productivity revolution that changed the face of American farming, marketing, new home appliances, and increased participation in the labor force by women radically changed the kinds of foods Americans ate. The consumption of processed foods increased significantly, and, concomitantly, concern about the purity of those foods increased as well. These trends served as the backdrop for a struggle between FDA and USDA over multiple dimensions of agricultural policy, including pesticide regulation. Using the records of hearings held in 1950 and 1951, we explore how the competing interest groups involved used the issue in their larger struggle over control of regulation of processed foods. We then fit the struggle into Bruce Yandle’s “Bootleggers and Baptists” theory of regulation.
Laser spectroscopic characterization of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV − ) centers in diamond

We report on the spectroscopic and laser characterization of negatively charged nitrogen-vacancy (NV−) centers in diamond. Spectroscopic properties such as absorption and emission spectra as well as kinetics were studied, and parameters such as cross-sections and lifetimes were estimated. A vibronic band of NV0 with zero phonon line (ZPL) at 575 nm was detected under 532 nm pulsed excitation due to the photoionization of NV−. Transmission of 532 nm pump pulses saturate around ∼10%, which is much smaller than the theoretical level. Δk/k0 kinetics revealed slow recovery of NV− centers after photoionization under 532 nm pumping, which involved different relaxation channels depending on the probe beam wavelengths. Localization of the electrons in the metastable state of NV0 centers resulted in higher saturated transmission of 632 nm pump.
Bilabial fricatives in Mexican Spanish: A sociophonetic analysis

Voiceless bilabial fricative productions ([ɸ]) have been widely reported for several Spanish dialects especially in America (Lenz 1940; Predmore 1945; Navarro Tomas 1943; Florez 1951; Boyd-Bowman 1960; Canfield 1981; among others). Most of these sources posit that the bilabial variant [ɸ] is more likely to be found in rural areas, that it is normally produced by speakers with a low educational level and that is generally followed by back (and rounded) vowels. Nevertheless, there is a need to formalize such observations and check to what extent these external and internal factors or others may be impacting the choice of this fricative over the more common [f]. In order to do so, eighteen speakers of Spanish from Guanajuato (Mexico), an area that has been reported to present both variants (Boyd-Bowman 1960), were recorded producing words with ‘f’. The analysis of 126 productions yielded the following results: a) speakers with a lower educational level (primary or secondary education) show more instances of the bilabial fricative [ɸ] than those that have attained higher degrees (university); b) older speakers and males tend to produce the vernacular variant [ɸ] more than younger speakers and females; and c) back round vowels (/o u/) are more likely to trigger the use of the bilabial fricative due to their articulatory similarities.
Integrating Mission-based Values into Accounting Curriculum: Catholic Social Teaching and Introductory Accounting

This paper presents several reasons why mission-based values, in this case Catholic Social Teaching (CST), should be incorporated into a university business curriculum. The CST tenets include the sanctity of human life; call to family, community, and participation; rights and responsibilities; option for the poor and vulnerable; the dignity of work and rights of workers; solidarity; and care for God’s creation. This paper also offers specifi c examples of incorporating CST into introductory accounting courses covering outsourcing, downsizing, environmental accounting, human resource accounting, stakeholder theory, socially responsible business behavior, and socially responsible investing. Although CST is most applicable for business education in Catholic universities, the basic premises of CST are consistent with the missions of many secular universities as well.
A HARDENED HEART: A CASE OF CARDIAC CALCIFICATION

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are diseases with both common and rare cardiovascular sequelae. A 25-year-old African-American female with SLE on long-term hydroxychloroquine and ESRD on chronic hemodialysis presented with new decompensated heart failure (HF).
Individualizing Training for Dancers

Our research team has advocated the use of small-N, within-subject experiments to study phenomena of interest to performing artists. In this chapter, we reflect on what we have been learning about training dancers while conducting within-subject experiments. The chapter begins with a brief description of how dancers and musicians train. Next, we describe the key features of within-subject experiments. Then we review five within-subject experiments that evaluated individualized approaches to training for dancers. Finally, we speculate on the implications of these findings and explore ways that dancers who may wish to make greater use of individual training may be able to incorporate it into their training practices.