cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Longitudinal effects of botulinum toxin injections on voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL) for patients with adductory spasmodic dysphonia

Adductory spasmodic dysphonia is a focal dystonia of laryngeal muscles. Patients with this disorder typically have severe vocal difficulties, with significant functional, social, and emotional consequences. There is no widely accepted cure for this condition, however, botulinum toxin injections of the thyroarytenoid muscles are considered by most voice clinicians to be the state of the art treatment. Based on extensive experience treating patients for adductory spasmodic dysphonia, we feel that traditional means of voice assessment do not adequately measure either the disease severity or the treatment outcomes. That is, listening to or acoustically analyzing limited phonatory samples does not capture the functional, social, and emotional consequences of this disorder. These consequences will be reflected in a patient's voice-related quality of life (V-RQOL). Using a validated voice outcomes instrument, the V-RQOL Measure, the purpose of this study was to quantify longitudinal changes in the V-RQOL of patients with adductory spasmodic dysphonia who are undergoing botulinum toxin injections. Twenty-seven consecutive new patients presenting with dysphonia to our institution during an 18-month period were diagnosed with adductory spasmodic dysphonia, and treated patients were evaluated prospectively using the V-RQOL Measure. Results indicated that (1) V-RQOL was initially very low for these patients, (2) botulinum toxin injections improved it significantly for each injection cycle studied, and (3) the magnitude of the treatment effect appears to change across injections.
Iron content, sensory evaluation, and consumer acceptance of food cooked in iron utensils.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of cooking food in iron utensils on the iron content, sensory quality, and consumer acceptance/ preference of the food. Hamburger patties and applesauce were cooked in iron and in glass utensils and were analyzed for iron content by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and evaluated by a trained sensory panel, by consumers, and for chroma, pH, and refractometer changes. Cooking hamburger patties and applesauce in iron utensils increased iron in the food, did not affect sensory quality or consumer acceptance/preference of hamburger patties, but affected the color and flavor and decreased consumer acceptance/preference for applesauce.
Extracting Action and Event Semantics from Web Text

Most information extraction research identifies the state of the world in text, including the entities and the relationships that exist between them. Much less attention has been paid to the understanding of dynamics, or how the state of the world changes over time. Because intelligent behavior seeks to change the state of the world in rational and utilitymaximizing ways, common-sense knowledge about dynamics is essential for intelligent agents. In this paper, we describe a novel system, PREPOST, that tackles the problem of extracting the preconditions and effects of actions and events, two important kinds of knowledge for connecting world state and the actions that affect it. In experiments on Web text, PREPOST is able to improve by 79% over a baseline technique for identifying the effects of actions (64% improvement for preconditions).
A Comparison of Three Programming Models for Telecom Service Composition

Service composition technologies are very important to telecom industry today since they allow application developers to make use of existing services as building blocks to create new services in a rapid and flexible manner in order to catch the fast changing market dynamics. The building block services are usually telecom network capabilities exposed through various protocols (e.g., SIP, Parlay) as well as IT software functions provided through certain interfaces (e.g., RPC, Web Services). Currently, most of telecom applications are created as program logic in pure programming languages (e.g., Java) or by SIP Servlet, so as to satisfy functional and non-functional requirements. Although BPEI is adopted in service composition more widely, whether it is a good solution for telecom domain is still controversial. In this paper, we experiment in three approaches - SIP Servlet, pure programming language of Java and BPEI - to build a same composite service with analysis on developer experience. Preliminary conclusions are drawn based on difference comparison of these composition models in terms of programming efforts and service runtime performance.
Vertically emitting distributed feedback laser for active label free biosensing

A distributed feedback laser has been demonstrated as a label free biosensor. The stimulated emission wavelength changes with the refractive index variations on the sensor surface. The sensor exhibits high resolution and wide dynamic range.
Validation Study of the CAPS Model Land Surface Scheme Using the 1987 Cabauw/PILPS Dataset

Abstract An updated complete and comprehensive description of the land surface parameterization scheme in the Coupled Atmosphere–Plant–Soil (CAPS) model is presented. The CAPS model has been in development at Oregon State University and Phillips Laboratory since 1981. The CAPS model was originally designed for a global atmospheric model, but it has also been used as a stand-alone model for a variety of applications. The land surface scheme in the CAPS model is one of the two dozen schemes that participated in the Project for Intercomparison of Land Surface Parameterization Schemes (PILPS). Some unique features of the CAPS scheme are given in detail. A comprehensive dataset of one year (1987), including atmospheric forcing data and validation data from Cabauw, has been provided for PILPS by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Using the Cabauw data, a validation study for the CAPS scheme has been carried out. The scheme’s self-consistencies in terms of surface energy balance and water budget are...
Di‐n‐butylbis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium

[80005-41-0] C18H28Zr (MW 335.64) InChI = 1S/2C5H5.2C4H9.Zr/c2*1-2-4-5-3-1;2*1-3-4-2;/h2*1-5H;2*1,3-4H2,2H3; InChIKey = CPUVWSVPJCGQRQ-UHFFFAOYSA-N (n-BuLi) [109-72-8] C4H9Li (MW 64.06) InChI = 1S/C4H9.Li/c1-3-4-2;/h1,3-4H2,2H3; InChIKey = MZRVEZGGRBJDDB-UHFFFAOYSA-N (n-BuMgCl) [693-04-9] C4H9ClMg (MW 116.87) InChI = 1S/C4H9.ClH.Mg/c1-3-4-2;;/h1,3-4H2,2H3;1H;/q;;+1/p-1 InChIKey = UUNGXYVLXYGZKH-UHFFFAOYSA-M (Cl2ZrCp2) [1291-32-2] C10H10Cl2Zr (MW 292.32) InChI = 1S/2C5H5.2ClH.Zr/c2*1-2-4-5-3-1;;;/h2*1-5H;2*1H;/q;;;;+2/p-2 InChIKey = QRUYYSPCOGSZGQ-UHFFFAOYSA-L (a reagent generated in situ as a ZrCp2 equivalent useful for the preparation of ZrCp2 π-complexes containing alkynes,1, 2 alkenes,1, 2 dienes,5 aldehydes,14 and nitriles as well as five-membered zirconacycles and their bicyclic and polycyclic derivatives) Alternate Name: di-n-butylzirconocene. Physical Data: Cl2ZrCp2; mp 245 °C. Form Supplied in: n-BuLi: solutions in cyclohexane, hexanes and pentane. n-BuMgCl: solutions in diethyl ether and THF. Cl2ZrCp2: colorless crystals. All are commercially available. Preparative Methods: generated in situ by the addition of 2 equiv of n-Butyllithium in hexanes or pentane, or n-BuMgCl in diethyl ether or THF, to Dichlorobis(cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dissolved in THF at −78 °C in an inert atmosphere of N2 or Ar. Handling, Storage, and Precaution: n-butyllithium and n-butylmagnesium chloride are sensitive to air, moisture, and a wide variety of heterofunctional and carbofunctional compounds. They must be used and stored under an inert atmosphere of N2 or Ar. Zirconocene dichloride may be handled in air, but it is advisable to avoid extensive exposure to air, moisture, and light. Use in a fume hood.
Chemotherapy-associated hematopoietic toxicity

Strategies for managing antineoplastic therapy-associated hematopoietic toxicity (thrombocytopenia, neutropenia, and anemia) are discussed. Hemorrhage secondary to decreases in platelets is the major risk posed by chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Patients with < 20,000 platelets per microliter are at increased risk of bleeding, particularly if they have a history of bleeding associated with this condition. The risks of infection and complications are related to both the severity and duration of neutropenia. The rate of febrile neutropenia with most antineoplastic regimens is < 40%, and routine use of cytokine therapy is probably not cost-effective. The frequency of cancer-related anemia is dependent on the type, stage, and duration of disease. Chemotherapy-induced anemia is affected by the types of agents used, the schedule of drug administration, and the intensity of the regimen. Fatigue is the most common symptom of anemia, being reported by 80-100% of patients undergoing chemotherapy. Although fatigue is a major factor in patients' quality of life, it has often not been treated systematically and aggressively. Anemia used to be treated with transfusions, but therapy with epoetin alfa is showing promise as an alternative. The introduction of epoetin alfa has led to more aggressive treatment. Chemotherapy-induced hematopoietic toxicity is a multifactorial challenge that affects the treatment of oncology patients.
Autoinflammation and autoimmunity in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) encompasses a range of phenotypes of joint inflammation that begin in childhood. The most distinctive and potentially most severe of these is systemic JIA (sJIA), an intensely inflammatory disease characterized by high spiking fevers and evanescent rashes that sometimes progresses to a devastating chronic polyarthritis. In PNAS, Ombrello et al. establish an unequivocal genetic association between sJIA and the major histocompatibility (MHC) region, in particular with the class II allele HLA-DRB1*11 (1). This is a big deal. Let’s consider why.
Cardioprotective effects of an early invasive strategy for non–ST-segment elevationacute coronary syndromes

Unstable angina and non–ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) comprise a growing percentage of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and are emerging as a major public health problem worldwide, especially in Western countries, despite significant improvements and refinements
The Context and Consequences of Contemporary Sex Research: A Feminist Perspective

Practicing scientists rarely take the opportunity to reflect on the philosophies—scientific, political, and personal—which guide our work. Moreover, sophistication in such analysis is neither part of our training nor is it an expected or rewarded part of our professional competence.
Trust violation and repair

With the pervasive use of the Internet, customer information privacy violation is on the rise and companies could suffer by losing their customers' trust. While previous literature has identified factors that influence trust, less attention has been paid to how trust may be rebuilt after it is violated by negative events regarding customer information privacy. The study synthesized two salient theories (the attribution theory and the organizational justice theory) to investigate the process by which trust is violated by privacy breaches and the extent of its repair by company responses. We examine the moderating effects of two types of privacy violation-hacking and unauthorized sharing-on the trust violation and repair process. We investigate the efficacy of three response types-apology, denial and no response. Data were gathered using a controlled, scenario-based lab experiment. Our results showed the significant moderating impact of violation type on the process of trust violation and repair. Apology emerged as a universally effective response, although its reparative power was far less in unauthorized sharing than in hacking. Denial emerged as a complex response. Furthermore, the results showed that trustworthiness beliefs (ability, integrity, and benevolence) are differently impacted in the violation-repair process. Details of theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Examines two types of privacy violation-unauthorized sharing and hacking.Investigates the efficacy of three types of response that companies could offer-apology, denial and no response.Provides a theoretical framework for trust violation and its repair process in the context of privacy violations.Examines the moderating influence of unauthorized sharing and hacking on trust violation and trust repair.Reports novel findings regarding how trust and trust beliefs are impacted as the result of privacy violation.Reports novel findings regarding the differential efficacy of companies' responses in repairing the violated trust.
When to Use the Manipulation

To the Editor: In “Evaluation of the Presence of Sacroiliac Joint Region Dysfunction Using A Combination of Tests: A Multicenter Intertester Reliability Study” (August 2002), Riddle et al seem to understand the original purpose of the 4 tests they examined, yet they go on to misinterpret and mischaracterize the utilization of these tests. In their abstract, the authors state that they have examined intertester reliability of measurements, but in the conclusion of the abstract they state that they “suspect it is likely that either the proper treatment technique will not be chosen based on the test results or the intervention will be applied to the wrong side.” The standing flexion, asymmetry of posterior superior iliac spines in sitting, long sitting, and prone knee bend tests were selected from a myriad of “sacroiliac joint [SIJ] signs” by Cibulka et al1 to operationally define SIJ dysfunction in order to conduct clinical trials. Indeed, the study by Cibulka et al, which Riddle et al state a purpose of their study was to replicate, contained 2 steps: the first to establish the reliability for the tests in question, and the second to obtain pretest-posttest measurements following manipulation or sham manipulation. A device combining a caliper, a protractor, and a plumb line was used to determine changes in sagittal-plane angles. At the University of Pittsburgh, we are pursuing a similar question with current technology. Researchers in 2 subsequent intervention studies2,3 also used these 4 criteria and the same manipulative technique. In these projects, it was necessary to operationally define “patients” as those who would benefit by extension exercises, because the existing guidelines were not adequate to assign patients to the category. The 4 SIJ tests were used to assign patients to the category where it was expected that the manipulation procedure …
Management of patients with rectocele

Abstract The main objective of this article is to review the management of patients with posterior vaginal wall prolapse. The posterior vaginal wall is inconsistent both in terms of correlating patient symptoms to objective findings and correlating correction of anatomic defects to symptom relief. Therefore, the management of patients with pelvic organ prolapse is challenging and emphasizes the need for surgeons to clearly communicate expectations of surgical repair. Despite these limitations, surgical repair of pelvic organ prolapse in properly selected patients can provide symptomatic relief and improvement in their quality of life and functional status. Review of the literature suggests that traditional posterior colporrhaphy without levatorplasty has superior objective outcomes compared with site-specific posterior repair (grade B), there is a higher dyspareunia rate reported when levatorplasty is employed (grade C), the transvaginal approach is superior to the transanal approach (grade A), there is no benefit of mesh overlay or augmentation of a suture repair (grade B), and while modified abdominal sacrocolpopexy results have been reported, data on how these results would compare with traditional transvaginal repair are lacking. Further studies are needed to optimize the care of patients with posterior vaginal wall prolapse.
Blinking Bird Brains: A Timing Specific Deficit in Auditory Learning in Quail Hatchlings

Contingency perception is critical during infancy, providing the basis for the continuous learning (and re-learning) of the relation between the developing body, self-produced actions, and the environment. Nevertheless, relatively few studies have systematically examined the spatiotemporal parameters that optimize learning during development. Here, we present a series of experiments exploring a novel timing-specific deficit in auditory learning in an animal model, the bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus). In this paradigm, chicks vocalize to hear playback of an unfamiliar maternal call and are later tested for their filial preference for that call over a novel maternal call. Rather than a simple, hyperbolic decline in learning with increased delay between chick vocalization and playback, we found a window—450–900 msec after chicks ceased vocalizing—in which chicks appeared to have difficulty learning and forming a preference for the maternal call. This deficit nonetheless occurred only when the spatial location of call playback switched semi-randomly during training, suggesting an attentional explanation for this deficit. Our findings indicate that optimization of the temporal parameters in operant paradigms with infants can be complex, particularly if tasks requiring the switching of attention between spatial locations. Our findings may thus be instructive for other developmental research with infants employing operant components.
Analysis of monitoring results on Kaschin Beck disease in Heilongjiang province in 2013

Objective To analyze the results of monitor for Kashin Beck disease in Heilongjiang province for further understanding the present situation and trend, to provide basis for prevention and treatment of Kashin Beck disease.Methods According to the requirements of national monitoring program for Kaschin Beck disease, 40 counties in the province were selected as monitoring sites where all the children in 7 to 12 years old were performed clinical examination and X-ray detectcon of the right hand. Results The detection rate of Kaschin Beck disease in clinical I degree was0.067%, X-ray detection rate was 0.11%. Conclusion Kaschin Beck disease in Heilongjiang province mainly is in sporadic, and now in the basic control state.
The Ethical Review of Technology Innovation of Big Data——The applied research of responsible innovation methodology

Big data technology has made considerable development,but there is still uncertainly risk in the process of technology innovation,which the technically feasible measures are still not accepted by the user.Big data technology innovation design should not only realize the ideal of social and environment benefits,but it should also consider the risks in the process of application in the future."Responsible innovation"is a new kind of methodology that design to ethical issues in the field of technology innovation,which try to exploring the integrated way in the process of researching and innovation in order to providing a method of guidance and advice for technology innovative design as represented by Big data,it has a great significance for the innovation and application of Big data technology in China.
Research on the Test Sheet Organization for Engineering Graphics

The main functions and characteristics of engineering graphics test bank are discussed.The various organizations of test paper in the test bank are described.A management system of auto-organizing test paper is put forward,which is designed with visual interface.Using the system,users can organize test paper and preview,modify or delete the default test paper in the system.Users can also set types,chapters,quantity,difficulty and score of questions to create a new test paper.The management system has much more practicability and makes the automatic generation of test paper more convenient.
Is Early Bariatric Surgery the Answer for Diabetes in Obesity

The article by Aung et al1 in this issue of JAMA Surgery continues the excellent clinical research from the group in Taiwan.Multiple randomized studies havedemonstrated the efficacy of bariatric surgery in treatingtype2diabetes (T2D), and the term metabolic surgery is being increasingly used, although it is not alwayswell defined. In their introduction, Aung and colleagues define this surgery as “the application of bariatric surgical procedures to patients with a body mass index (BMI) (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height inmeters squared) of less than 35who also have severe comorbidities.”1 We feel defining it as the manipulation of the gastrointestinal tractwith the goal of treatingT2D isnot only more appropriate but also more representative of what the authors have evaluated in their study. In this article, the authors compare the outcomes of bariatric surgery in those with early-onset T2D (age <40 years) and late-onset T2D (age ≥40 years) and conclude that early intervention leads to better ratesofcompletediabetes remission (hemoglobinA1c<6.0% [toconvert toproportionof totalhemoglobin,multiplyby0.01] without antidiabetic medication).1 Previous studies have shown that the duration of diabetes,useof insulin,degreeofpostoperativeweight loss, andtype of surgeryperformed can influence the remission rates of diabetes following bariatric surgery.2 The studybyAung and colleagues shows that age at diabetes onset canbeused as an additionalpredictorof success,whichsuggestseitheradifference in the pathophysiology of early-onset diabetes or preserved pancreatic reserve in young patients, as inferred by higher C-peptide levels. These data are in keepingwith a 2016 study by Inge et al3 showing a 95%diabetes remission rate at 3 years in their adolescent cohort (aged 13-19 years). Taken together, there appears to be an amassing body of data in support of early consideration of bariatric surgery for obese individualswithT2D. This not only has thepotential to reduce their long-termneed for multiple medications but also has the potential to significantly mitigate their risks of health complications compounded over their lifetime. Thestudy’s5-yearoutcomesareamajor strengthof this article. Although the follow-up ratewas around 50%, these data pointsarerareandvaluabletothefield.Theauthorsaretobecongratulatedforcollectingthesedata,whichreveal thatT2Drecurrence,anAchillesheelofbariatricsurgery,occurseveninthemost idealofpatients—onewithearlyonsetandshortdurationofT2D. Thus, identifyingmarkersof long-termT2Dremissionis,andwill continue to be, an area of heavy interest in the field.
A Systematic Literature Review of Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scales Based on Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing

Objectives: Identification of pharyngeal residue severity located in the valleculae and pyriform sinuses has always been a primary goal during fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES). Pharyngeal residue is a clinical sign of potential prandial aspiration making an accurate description of its severity an important but difficult challenge. A reliable, validated, and generalizable pharyngeal residue severity rating scale for FEES would be beneficial. A systematic review of the published English language literature since 1995 was conducted to determine the quality of existing pharyngeal residue severity rating scales based on FEES.
An Exploratory Study on Consumers’ Attitudes Toward Rebates

Rebates are a form of sales promotions that have seen increased use over the past few years, with the difficulty in compliance increasing over time. To avoid fraudulent rebate claims, manufacturers have established such stringent rebate requirements that many consumers are unable to satisfy them and realize the rebates. A number of ethical considerations will be addressed. The purpose of this paper is to conduct preliminary research leading to an understanding of consumers’ attitudes toward rebates. Consumers indicated that rebate programs work to the advantage of the manufacturer. Finally, some recommended changes for rebate programs are discussed.
Corruption, Contention, and Reform: “Deep democratization” and the control of corruption

Right, as the world goes, is only in question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. – Thucydides, the Melian dialogue Why isn’t there more corruption? Corruption is often portrayed in terms of infection, deterioration, or plague, spreading relentlessly and threatening societies with collapse. We are told that it is on the rise around the world, even though we have no real way of showing that that is true, and often it is implied that there was a time when there was far less of it – or maybe even none. But maybe the real question is not why there is so much corruption, but rather why there is not much more of it? Maybe we should ask how it was that the powerful and wealthy were ever brought within limits, and how the idea that rulers should be answerable to others took root and became credible. After all, politics and government did not originate in a civic Eden. For centuries, governing consisted of swinging the biggest stick. Power and its rewards justified more or less any action, to the extent that justification was needed at all, and notions of a “public” – much less, one with any rights overriding the personal interests of rulers – were illusory. The remarkable thing may not be that elites stray from the straight and narrow, but rather that anyone has ever been able to call them to account.
A Founding Framework for Addressing Obesity in Qatar Using Mobile Technologies

This paper develops a founding framework for a comprehensive Obesity Management Program with Technology (OMPwT). There are two main objectives for such a program, namely – a) to trigger weight loss and effective behavioral changes that are reinforced through mobile and online technology support for users (overweight or obese patients) and their mentors (dieticians and clinicians) and b) to leverage technology to support an efficient workflow process and data exchange between users, mentors and the healthcare institution. We wish to do this in a local context of Arab gulf countries and specifically to Qatar. Our research questions are validated in small focus groups of physicians and dieticians. The proposed methodology covers the technological design of a comprehensive system that links all key players of the health ecosystem in a cost effective manner.
Juvenile Probation Professionals’ Perceptions of Community-Based Probation Practices

Recent budget restraints and heightened concerns for juvenile offenders’ safety and well-being have compelled juvenile justice policymakers and practitioners to implement community-based approaches for reducing juvenile recidivism. This paper explores whether individual, organizational, and attitudinal factors influence juvenile probation professionals’ perceptions of the community-based probation (CBP) model, a supervision strategy that emphasizes establishing community partnerships to rehabilitate youths. Seventy-one juvenile probation professionals working in probation agencies across Texas completed questionnaires asking them about their perceptions of CBP and its impact on current juvenile offending trends. Results of regression analyses revealed that rehabilitation-oriented juvenile probation professionals were more likely to attribute current decreases in juvenile offending to CBP and more likely to believe that CBP does not endanger public safety. Interestingly, the age of juvenile probation professionals was correlated with an increased probability that professionals believed that CBP poses no threat to public safety. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for supervision strategies and directions for future research.
Ankyloglossia and Lingual Frenotomy: National Trends in Inpatient Diagnosis and Management in the United States, 1997-2012:

Objectives (1) Describe trends in the diagnosis of ankyloglossia and the use of lingual frenotomy and (2) analyze patient- and hospital-level factors as compared with the total pediatric discharge population. Study Design National database analysis. Methods We reviewed available data from 1997 to 2012 using the Kids' Inpatient Database, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. All weighted pediatric discharges with ankyloglossia, newborn feeding difficulty, or lingual frenotomy were analyzed for variables of sex, payer, zip code median income, hospital ownership, location/teaching status, bed size, region, and children's hospital status. Chi-square analysis with 95% CIs and odds ratio were used to identify differences between the study group and the total database discharge population. Results Diagnosis of ankyloglossia increased each year of publication (every third year)-with 3934, 5430, 7785, 11,397, 19,459, and 32,837 children, respectively, from 1997 to 2012-with the largest increase in the last 6 years. Similarly, frenotomy increased with 1279, 1633, 2538, 3988, 6900, and 12,406 procedures. Compared with the total discharge population, children with ankyloglossia or frenotomy were more often male (63.6% ankyloglossia, 65.3% frenotomy vs 51.2%), privately insured (60.1%, 62.1% vs 43.6%), from a higher median-income zip code (78.1%, 78.2% vs 68.6%), and in Midwest region (29.3%, 32.3% vs 21.7%). Conclusion These pilot data show increases in diagnoses of ankyloglossia and use of frenotomy. There is a preponderance of children who are male, privately insured, or Midwest residents being diagnosed and treated for ankyloglossia. This broad variation may reflect local practice patterns or imply cultural and socioeconomic bias.
How to use mucosal histology reports in diagnosing gastrointestinal disease in children

The gastrointestinal system includes multiple organs through which food passes, nutrients are absorbed and waste is eliminated. It also has endocrinologic and immunologic functions. Many diseases can affect the digestive system. In differential diagnosis workup, laboratory tests, imaging but most of all endoscopic and histologic examination are helpful. For proper specimen interpretation, an effective dialogue between the pathologist and the clinician, is necessary.
Development and pilot-testing of a cognitive behavioral coping skills group intervention for patients with chronic hepatitis C

Psychosocial interventions for patients with chronic hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection are needed to attenuate the impact of extrahepatic symptoms, comorbid conditions, and treatment side effects on HCV health outcomes. We adapted empirically-supported interventions for similar patient populations to develop a Cognitive Behavioral Coping Skills group intervention for HCV patients (CBCS-HCV) undergoing treatment. The objectives of this paper are to describe the research activities associated with CBCS-HCV development and pilot testing, including: (1) formative work leading to intervention development; (2) preliminary study protocol; and (3) pilot feasibility testing of the intervention and study design. Formative work included a literature review, qualitative interviews, and adaption, development, and review of study materials. A preliminary study protocol is described. We evaluate the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the CBCS-HCV with 12 study participants in Wave 1 testing to examine: (a) feasibility of intervention delivery; (b) patient acceptability; (c) recruitment, enrollment, retention; (d) feasibility of conducting a RCT; (d) therapist protocol fidelity; and (e) feasibility of data collection. Numerous lessons were learned. We found very high rates of data collection, participant attendance, engagement, retention and acceptability, and therapist protocol fidelity. We conclude that many aspects of the CBCS-HCV intervention and study protocol were highly feasible. The greatest challenge during this Wave 1 pilot study was efficiency of participant enrollment due to changes in standard of care treatment. These findings informed two additional waves of pilot testing to examine effect sizes and potential improvements in clinical outcomes, with results forthcoming.
Comparison of Polyphenol Intakes in Relation to Dietary Patterns and Food Sources in the Adventist Health Study-2 Cohort

Evidence suggests a relationship between polyphenol intake and health benefits. Polyphenol intake among a large United States cohort with diverse dietary practices ranging from meatless to omnivoro...
Erasing race: overlooking racial and ethnic disadvantage as a mitigating factor in capital penalty trials

AbstractDue to the persistence of structural racism in America, non-whites are more likely to experience hardships related to their race or ethnicity that are relevant to capital mitigation than whites are. Yet, the color-blind ideology of post-Civil Rights America suggests that capital litigators would avoid explicitly addressing racial and ethnic inequality in their mitigation cases, but there has never been a systematic study examining this possibility. This study begins to fill this gap by utilizing an exploratory qualitative content analysis of available capital penalty trial transcripts over an 11-year period in New Castle County, Delaware, to analyze whether capital defense attorneys do, in fact, explicitly discuss racial or ethnic inequality in their mitigation cases or whether they discuss inequality and disadvantage in a purely color-blind fashion. The findings reveal that defense attorneys never explicitly broached the topic of racial inequality, but they did talk about other forms of structura...
Expectation Costs in International Disputes: How Words Work Like Tanks for Accountable Leaders

Recent theorizing has emphasized that military mobilizations both sink costs and tie hands, unlike signaling strategies that rely solely on punishments for bluffing, like audience costs. I argue that public reactions to bluffs, and inconsistency more generally, have been misunderstood in this regard, and that a reconceptualization of audience costs as prospect-theory-driven "expectation costs" suggests that threats from leaders who are more accountable to some opinionated audience function as costly signals very much like military mobilizations. This dynamic can help explain, without contradiction, four major phenomena: why all but the most unaccountable leaders consistently act as if bluffing is costly even though traditional audience costs may be trivial; why more accountable leaders' threats are more successful regardless of how and to whom the leader is accountable; why democracies rarely engage in militarized disputes, much less war, with each other; and why the overall relationship between war and democracy is parabolic.
Occupational asthma risk from exposures to toluene diisocyanate: A review and risk assessment.

Background: Toluene Diisocyanate (TDI) is a known respiratory sensitizer linked to occupational asthma (OA). To better manage worker risks, an appropriate characterization of the TDI-OA dose-risk relationship is needed. Methods: The literature was reviewed for data suitable for dose-response modeling. Previous study data were fit to models to derive prospective occupational exposure limits (OELs), using benchmark dose (BMD) and low-dose extrapolation approaches. Results: Data on eight TDI-exposed populations were suitable for analysis. There were 118 OA cases in a population contributing 13 590 person-years. The BMD-based OEL was 0.4 ppb. The OEL based on low-dose extrapolation to working lifetime extra risk of 1/1000 was 0.3 ppb. Conclusions: This study synthesized epidemiologic data to characterize the TDI-OA dose-risk relationship. This approach yielded prospective OEL estimates below recent recommendations by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, but given significant study limitations, this should be interpreted with caution. Confirmatory research is needed.
The Effects of Multivalency and Kinetics in Nanoscale Search by Molecular Spiders

Molecular spiders are nanoscale walkers made with catalytic DNA legs attached to a rigid body. They move over a surface of DNA substrates, cleaving them and leaving behind product DNA strands, which they are able to revisit. The cleavage and detachment from substrates together take more time than the detachment from products. This difference in residence time between substrates and products, in conjunction with the plurality of the legs, makes a spider move differently from an ordinary random walker. The number of legs, and their lengths, can be varied, and this defines how a spider moves on the surface, i.e., its gait. Here we define an abstract model of molecular spiders in two dimensions. Then, using Kinetic Monte Carlo simulation, we study how efficiently the spiders with various gaits are able to find specific targets on a finite two-dimensional lattice. Multi-legged spiders with certain gaits find their targets faster than regular random walkers. The search performance of spiders depends both on their gait and on the kinetic rate r, which describes the relative substrate/product “stickiness.” Spiders with gaits that allow more freedom of leg movement find their targets faster than spiders with more restrictive gaits. For each gait, there is an optimal value of r that minimizes the time to find all target sites. Spiders influence each other’s motion through stigmergy, and this also affects the search performance.
Representation and Cognitive Explanation

Representations, it is argued, cannot have effects as representations; yet, even so, they are essential to some explanations in cognitive science. These apparently incompatible claims can be reconciled if we distinguish between explaining cognitive abilities and explaining cognition. Certain cognitive abilities can be seen to require representations for their explanation; but explanations of this type cannot explain how the required representations come to be available, or come to be appropriately connected. A clear understanding of the distinction between explaining cognitive abilities and explaining cognition suggests a certain approach to the latter project, and throws light on some recent controversies.
The Effect of High Compressive Stress on the Critical Current in Multistrand Nb3Sn Conductors

The materials in superconducting accelerator magnets are subjected to high local stresses even though the coils are relatively small. A cross section of the 4.2-T Fermilab doubler dipole is shown in Fig. 1. The maximum compressive stress due to Lorentz forces is 9300 psi (64 MPa). Because the coils are precompressed during fabrication, the maximum stress in the windings is increased to about 12,000 psi (83 MPa) or higher. The NbTi conductors used today withstand this force with no apparent degradation.
Oligonucleotides Targeting Telomeres and Telomerase in Cancer

Telomeres and telomerase have become attractive targets for the development of anticancer therapeutics due to their involvement in cancer cell immortality. Currently, several therapeutics have been developed that directly target telomerase and telomeres, such as telomerase inhibitors and G-quadruplex stabilizing ligands. Telomere-specific oligonucleotides that reduce telomerase activity and disrupt telomere architecture are also in development as novel anticancer therapeutics. Specifically, GRN163L and T-oligos have demonstrated promising anticancer activity in multiple cancers types via induction of potent DNA damage responses. Currently, several miRNAs have been implicated in the regulation of telomerase activity and may prove to be valuable targets in the development of novel therapies by reducing expression of telomerase subunits. Targeting miRNAs that are known to increase expression of telomerase subunits may be another strategy to reduce carcinogenesis. This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of current oligonucleotide-based anticancer therapies that target telomeres and telomerase. These studies may help design novel therapeutic approaches to overcome the challenges of oligonucleotide therapy in a clinical setting.
Condition-based maintenance policy optimization using genetic algorithms and Gaussian markov improvement algorithm

Condition-based maintenance involves monitoring the degrading health of machines in a manufacturing system and scheduling maintenance to avoid costly unplanned failures. As compared with preventive maintenance, which maintains machines on a set schedule based on time or run time of a machine, condition-based maintenance attempts to minimize the number of times maintenance is performed on a machine while still attaining a prescribed level of availability. Condition-based methods save on maintenance costs and reduce unwanted downtime over its lifetime. Finding an analytically-optimal condition-based maintenance policy is difficult when the target system has non-uniform machines, stochastic maintenance time and capacity constraints on maintenance resources. In this work, we find an optimal condition-based maintenance policy for a serial manufacturing line using a genetic algorithm and the Gaussian Markov Improvement Algorithm, an optimization via simulation method for a stochastic problem with a discrete solution space. The effectiveness of these two algorithms will be compared. When a maintenance job (i.e., machine) is scheduled, it is placed in a queue that is serviced with either a first-infirst- out discipline or based on a priority. In the latter, we apply the concept of opportunistic window to identify a machine that has the largest potential to disrupt the production of the system and assign a high priority to the machine. A test case is presented to demonstrate this method and its improvement over traditional maintenance methods.
An examination of the role of booking lead time in consumers’ reactions to online scarcity messages

Abstract Scarcity messaging is frequently employed by travel marketers to drive consumer conversion rate in the online sales environment. This study examines the effects of two types of scarcity messages, unit and option scarcity, on consumer booking intentions and explores the role of booking lead time on the scarcity messaging-booking intentions relationship in the context of the purchase of hotel accommodation. Findings suggest that when booking lead-time is long, unit scarcity messages will be more effective than option scarcity messages in influencing booking intentions as they are perceived as more credible, and induce higher perceptions of a sellout risk. When booking lead-time is short, consumers perceive no differences in the credibility of unit and option scarcity messages: both are equally effective in driving booking intentions. This research provides marketers with guidance on how and when to leverage scarcity appeals to drive consumer conversion rate.
Elementary kinetics of nitrogen electroreduction to ammonia on late transition metals

Developing small scale nitrogen to ammonia conversion devices could greatly help sustainable agriculture. The lack of effective cathode materials for reduction of nitrogen to ammonia puts a major limitation on developing small scale electrochemical ammonia production devices that can operate at low pressures and temperatures. In this study, the electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) mechanism is investigated over late transition metals. Activation barriers for possible rate limiting steps are calculated using density functional theory (DFT) methods and are converted to potential dependent electrochemical barriers. Associative and dissociative paths are evaluated and the associative path shows lower barriers on all metals considered at NRR potentials. Bronsted–Evans–Polanyi (BEP) relationships are evaluated for rate limiting steps and a “kinetic volcano” is demonstrated for catalyst optimization. Rhodium (Rh) and iron (Fe) appear to have the lowest kinetic barriers to convert N2 to NH3. A large over-potential, however, is required to convert nitrogen to ammonia over all the surfaces considered. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) has a lower activation barrier compared to NRR, demonstrating the kinetic selectivity challenge.
Optimization of bioinspired conical surfaces for water collection from fog

Desert beetles, desert grass and cacti use different mechanisms to transport the collected water. It is transported to a location where it is consumed or stored. The mechanisms include heterogeneous wettability, grooves, and Laplace pressure gradient due to conical geometry, respectively. A systematic study is presented which investigates the effect of conical geometry for water collection purposes. Parameters including tip angle, cone length, surface area, and inclination angle were varied. The effect of grooves, heterogeneous wettability, and array were also investigated. Force due to the Laplace pressure gradient and gravity were found to be the two primary forces driving the droplets.
Echocardiography: An everyday tool in intensive care

It was a cold December night in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I was in ICU taking care of a patient, Mr. David, who had had a cardiac arrest at home, underwent CPR and was now on mechanical ventilation. He had been subjected to ‘Mild Induced Hypothermia’ protocol. The patient did well and after re-warming to normal temperature, he was weaned off sedation and mechanical ventilation. He was able to talk and move all his extremities. This is what we hope for in every patient after a cardiac arrest with appropriate medical care and latest technology. Patients get a second lease on life and their loved ones are able to look into their eyes and hold their hands. David’s wife Mary was so happy to see him come around after she had witnessed him undergoing CPR.
The bone microenvironment invigorates metastatic seeds for further dissemination

Metastasis has been considered as the terminal step of tumor progression. However, recent clinical studies suggest that many metastases are seeded from other metastases, rather than primary tumors. Thus, some metastases can further spread, but the corresponding pre-clinical models are lacking. By using several approaches including parabiosis and an evolving barcode system, we demonstrated that the bone microenvironment facilitates breast and prostate cancer cells to further metastasize and establish multi-organ secondary metastases. Importantly, dissemination from the bone microenvironment appears to be more aggressive compared to that from mammary tumors and lung metastases. We further uncovered that this metastasis-promoting effect is independent from genetic selection, as single cell-derived cancer cell populations (SCPs) exhibited enhanced metastasis capacity after being extracted from the bone microenvironment. Taken together, our work revealed a previously unappreciated effect of the bone microenvironment on metastasis evolution, and suggested a stable reprogramming process that engenders cancer cells more metastatic.
Beverage ethanol exposures among infants reported to United States poison control centers.

Case studies and small series have demonstrated that beverage ethanol may pose a serious poisoning hazard to infants. Intoxicated infants may not present with the classic signs or symptoms of ethan...
Telomerase expression marks transitional growth-associated skeletal progenitor/stem cells.

Skeletal progenitor/stem cells (SSCs) play a critical role in postnatal bone growth and maintenance. Telomerase (Tert) activity prevents cellular senescence and is required for maintenance of stem cells in self‐renewing tissues. Here we investigated the role of mTert‐expressing cells in postnatal mouse long bone and found that mTert expression is enriched at the time of adolescent bone growth. mTert‐GFP+ cells were identified in regions known to house SSCs, including the metaphyseal stroma, growth plate, and the bone marrow. We also show that mTert‐expressing cells are a distinct SSC population with enriched colony‐forming capacity and contribute to multiple mesenchymal lineages, in vitro. In contrast, in vivo lineage‐tracing studies identified mTert + cells as osteochondral progenitors and contribute to the bone‐forming cell pool during endochondral bone growth with a subset persisting into adulthood. Taken together, our results show that mTert expression is temporally regulated and marks SSCs during a discrete phase of transitional growth between rapid bone growth and maintenance.