cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pharmacokinetics and whole-blood bactericidal activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis of single doses of PNU-100480 in healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND The oxazolidinone PNU-100480 is superior to linezolid against experimental murine tuberculosis. Two metabolites contribute to but do not fully account for its superiority. This study examined the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and mycobactericidal activity of single ascending doses of PNU-100480. METHODS Nineteen healthy volunteers received 2 escalating single oral doses (35-1500 mg) of PNU-100480 or placebo. Eight subjects received 4 daily doses of 300 mg of linezolid. Drug concentrations and bactericidal activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis in whole-blood bactericidal culture were measured. RESULTS All doses were safe and well tolerated. PNU-100480 doses to 1000 mg were well absorbed and showed approximately proportional increases in exposures of parent and metabolites. The geometric mean maximal concentrations of PNU-100480, PNU-101603, and PNU-101244 (sulfoxide and sulfone metabolites) at 1000 mg were 839, 3558, and 54 ng/mL, respectively. The maximal whole-blood bactericidal activity (-0.37 +/- .06 log/day) occurred at combined PNU levels > or =2 times the minimum inhibitory concentration. The observed geometric mean maximal concentration for linezolid was 6425 ng/mL. Its maximal whole-blood bactericidal activity also occurred at > or =2 times the minimum inhibitory concentration, but it was only -0.16 +/- .05 log/day (P< .001) Neither drug showed enhanced activity at higher concentrations. CONCLUSIONS Single doses of PNU-100480 to 1000 mg were well tolerated and exhibited antimycobacterial activity superior to 300 mg of linezolid at steady state. Additional studies are warranted to define its role in drug-resistant tuberculosis.
Egocentric distance perception in HMD-based virtual environments

We conducted a followup experiment to the work of Lin et al. [2011]. The experimental protocol was the same as that of Experiment Four in Lin et al. [2011] except the viewing condition was binocular instead of monocular. In that work there was no distance underestimation, as has been widely reported elsewhere, and we were motivated in this experiment to see if stereoscopic effects in head-mounted displays (HMDs) accounted for this effect.
Quantitative effects of eugenol on "lignin" and non-lignin fractions in leaf tissues of some woody plants.

Abstract Samples of leaf tissues of five species of woody plants were treated with eugenol and peroxide during 2-hr, incubation periods, then analyzed for comparison with similar samples treated with peroxide but no eugenol. Eugenol treatment resulted in an increase in total dry weight, an increase in the weight of sulfuric acid “lignin,” a decrease in total extractives, and an increase in non-extractive acid-solubles. High nitrogen and low methoxyl contents of the “lignin” fraction suggested that it contained non-lignin materials. In four of the five species the increase in “lignin” was much smaller than the increase in dry weight, the decrease in extractives, and the increase in acid-solubles. It is concluded that the effects of eugenol supplied to these tissues are not limited to the “lignin” fraction.
Collective Action on Campus Toward Student Development and Democratic Engagement

This chapter explores the ways faculty and staff work with students to support their activism as well as the way students tap faculty and staff to support their movements.
Transmission line distance protection using ANFIS and positive sequence components

Conventional distance relays are affected by variables such as source impedance, power angle, fault resistance, etc. This paper presents a new scheme for distance relay using adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and positive sequence components of voltage/current waveforms that can reduce the impact of those variables. The change of currents is used for the detection of faults on transmission lines. Four ANFIS modules are used as distance measuring unit. The real and imaginary parts of positive-sequence voltages and currents are selected as the inputs to ANFIS based on numerous experiments. System simulation studies show that the proposed scheme is able to discriminate faults inside and outside the protection zone quickly and accurately.
In the face of hypoxia: myoglobin increases in response to hypoxic conditions and lipid supplementation in cultured Weddell seal skeletal muscle cells

SUMMARY A key cellular adaptation to diving in Weddell seals is enhanced myoglobin concentrations in their skeletal muscles, which serve to store oxygen to sustain a lipid-based aerobic metabolism. The aim of this study was to determine whether seal muscle cells are inherently adapted to possess the unique skeletal muscle adaptations to diving seen in the whole animal. We hypothesized that the seal skeletal muscle cells would have enhanced concentrations of myoglobin de novo that would be greater than those from a C 2 C 12 skeletal muscle cell line and reflect the concentrations of myoglobin observed in previous studies. In addition we hypothesized that the seal cells would respond to environmental hypoxia similarly to the C 2 C 12 cells in that citrate synthase activity and myoglobin would remain the same or decrease under hypoxia and lactate dehydrogenase activity would increase under hypoxia as previously reported. We further hypothesized that β-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase activity would increase in response to the increasing amounts of lipid supplemented to the culture medium. Our results show that myoglobin significantly increases in response to environmental hypoxia and lipids in the Weddell seal cells, while appearing similar metabolically to the C 2 C 12 cells. The results of this study suggest the regulation of myoglobin expression is fundamentally different in Weddell seal skeletal muscle cells when compared with a terrestrial mammalian cell line in that hypoxia and lipids initially prime the skeletal muscles for enhanced myoglobin expression. However, the cells need a secondary stimulus to further increase myoglobin to levels seen in the whole animal.
Controlling a mobile robot using partial representations

Multiple partial representations greatly facilitate the construction of complex autonomous robots. Such representations are desirable since they are easy to develop and quick to compute. We describe how to select various representations, how to string them together to perform specific tasks, and how to provide the resulting distributed system with an overall goal. As with the original Subsumption Architecture, our approach allows the incremental development of a system by the accretion of successive performance layers. The application of these techniques is illustrated by the analysis of an existing mobile robot which collects soda cans in an unstructured office environment.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Dual Angiotensin Receptor and Neprilysin Inhibition with Sacubitril/Valsartan in Chronic Systolic Heart Failure: Understanding the New PARADIGM

Objective: To evaluate the clinical role of sacubitril/valsartan, a novel angiotensin–neprilysin inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Data Sources: A search of PubMed was conducted using a combination of the search terms sacubitril, valsartan, LCZ696, neprilysin inhibition, natriuretic peptide system, renin-angiotensin system, and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Bibliographies of all retrieved articles were reviewed for relevant literature. All references included were published between 1980 and May 2015. Study Selection/Data Extraction: All studies and review articles that contained data describing the use of sacubitril/valsartan in HFrEF were reviewed. Data Synthesis: HFrEF remains a disease of high morbidity and mortality. Natriuretic peptide (NP) augmentation has emerged as a most promising neurohormonal target in HFrEF. NPs provide vasodilatory, natriuretic, diuretic, and antiproliferative actions to help support the failing hea...
Shifting the Spotlight onto the Forgotten Ventricle: Role of the Right Ventricle in Low-Flow, Low-Gradient Aortic Stenosis

In patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS), a reduced left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (LVEF) is associated with increased mortality after aortic valve replacement (AVR). Both the American and European valve guidelines indicate that LVEF < 50% is a class I indication for AVR, even in the absence of symptoms, although a recent large single-center study suggested that the LVEF cut point should be even higher. 1-3 Among patients with LVEF < 50%, those with ‘‘classic’’ low-flow, low-gradient (LFLG) AS (as opposed to ‘‘paradoxical’’ LFLG AS) represent a unique clinical challenge. Dobutamine stress echocardiography is recommended to distinguish between truly severe versus pseudosevere AS (to determine whether to perform AVR) and to determine whether there is flow reserve, which has implications for procedural risk and postoperative survival. 1,4-6 Even in the absence of flow reserve, however, AVR appears to be associated with improved survival. 7 To date, a limited number of studies performed on this subgroup of patients with AS have demonstrated that medical therapy, a lower mean transvalvular gradient at rest, the lack of flow reserve with dobutamine, multivessel coronary disease, and reduced global longitudinal strain at rest and with dobutamine are associated with increased mortality. 4,6-8 Notably, these studies have all focused on the association between left-sided factors and clinical outcomes. Might an evaluation of the right side of the heart be informative to risk-stratify these patients?
GUIDANCE FOR RELATIVE MOTION OF LOW EARTH ORBIT SPACECRAFT BASED ON RELATIVE ORBIT ELEMENTS

In this paper a multiple-impulse maneuver algorithm for relative motion trajectory reconfiguration based on the Clohessy-Wiltshire-Hill’s equations is reviewed from previous work. This algorithm is further developed to allow complete generality in terms of the number and direction of the burns and their location on the trajectory. Several special cases of the algorithm are then investigated, including those that are most practical and operationally expedient. Two of the special cases are combined to affect motion both in the orbital plane of the reference satellite and out of the plane.
Modeling soot emissions from wall films in a direct-injection spark-ignition engine

Due to the new challenge of meeting number-based regulations for particulate matter in spark-ignition engines, and the important contributions of wall films to soot emissions, a computational fluid dynamics model was formulated and improved to enable the prediction of soot emissions (mass and number density) from spark-ignition engines, with consideration of multi-component fuel surrogates to represent real gasoline and with full three-dimensional cylinder engine grids. A chemistry mechanism including n-heptane/iso-octane/toluene/polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (89 species and 506 reactions) was formulated, and the model was also validated based on available experimental data from laminar premixed flame burners and the SANDIA engine combustion network spray combustion data. Fuel pyrolysis was also found to be a significant process for soot formation in direct-injection spark-ignition engines. The vaporization of the wall films plays a significant role in soot formation, and a grid-independent wall film mo...
Interfaced metal heterodimers in the quantum size regime.

Synthesis of nanoparticle dimers made of asymmetric compositions is very challenging because of the difficulty in manipulating the nanoparticles’ surface chemistries in order to control the assembly and/or growth of different nanoparticles. In this Letter, we report a seed-mediated, surface-confined epitaxial overgrowth strategy that enables the synthesis of high-quality interfaced Au–Ag heterodimers in the quantum size regime (diameters <10 nm). Au and Ag share a common face-centered cubic lattice and have nearly identical lattice constants, which facilitates epitaxial overgrowth and allows direct contact between the Au and Ag domains. Quantum size effects, formation of the Au/Ag interfaces, and chemical interactions with surfactant molecules strongly influence the optical properties of the dimers and lead to the observation of unique surface plasmon resonances. In particular, we find an unusual enhancement of the characteristic Au surface plasmon resonance and the emergence of a charge transfer plasmon ...
From Freedom of Speech to Free Speech: Response to John Durham Peters' Courting the Abyss

(2009). From Freedom of Speech to Free Speech: Response to John Durham Peters' Courting the Abyss. Free Speech Yearbook: Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 173-175.
Autologous stem cell transplant for primary CNS lymphoma results in prolonged progression free and overall survival

7623 Background: Survival for patient with primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL), in general, is poor with patients requiring frequent chemotherapy treatments or receiving whole-brain radiation therapy, whi...
Coupling Implicit Monte Carlo Thermal Radiation Transport to Lagrange and ALE Hydrodynamics in the Lab and Fluid Frames

ABSTRACTThe requirements for coupling an Implicit Monte Carlo thermal radiation transport package to a hydrodynamics package are discussed. The calculation of material motion corrections for the radiation package in both lab and fluid frames are considered, as are the consequences of operator splitting on discretization error. We demonstrate accurate radiation hydrodynamics simulations of a radiating shock problem with both Lagrangian and Arbitrary Lagrange–Eulerian (ALE) hydrodynamics in both the lab and fluid frames.
Iron in kornerupine; a 57 Fe Moessbauer spectroscopic study and comparison with single-crystal structure refinement

Iron is an important constituent of kornerupine, ([]Mg,Fe) (Al,Mg,Fe) 9 (Si,Al,B) 5 O 21 (OH,F). We obtained Mossbauer spectra at 300 K on twelve samples with Sigma Fe = 0.30-1.30 atoms per formula unit (apfu) and Fe (super 3+) /Sigma Fe = 0-0.31; several samples were also run at 77 and 430 K. Models allowing unequivocal refinement of the spectra and determination of site occupancies were developed only when single-crystal refinement (SREF) of six of the samples constrained the number of possibilities. The spectra could then be fitted to three Fe (super 2+) doublets and one Fe (super 3+) doublet. The Fe (super 2+) doublets have nearly identical isomer shifts: delta = 1.14-1.19 mm/s for the octahedral M1 and M2 sites and 1.12-1.20 mm/s for the irregular, eightfold-coordinated X site (relative to alpha -Fe at 300 K). However, they differ to a variable extent in quadrupole splitting, Delta E Q nearly equal 1.06-1.80, 1.83-2.27, and 2.14-3.41 mm/s, respectively, to the M1, M2, and X sites. The Fe (super 3+) doublet corresponds to the M4 site. The Mossbauer and SREF occupancies are in excellent agreement for the six samples. The M1 doublet is split in B-bearing kornerupine and the proportion of Fe corresponding to each doublet, as well as quadrupole splitting, varies with B content. Similarly, the X doublet is split in F-bearing kornerupine, and quadrupole splitting of the X site increases with increasing F content. In contrast to most silicates, resolution of the spectra improves with increasing temperature. Quadrupole splitting of the X, M1, and M2 sites decreases with temperature, the X site at a lesser rate consistent with its being the most distorted site. To a first approximation, the Fe (super 3+) /Sigma Fe ratio in kornerupine determined by SREF and Mossbauer spectroscopy increases with increasing Fe 2 O 3 and Fe (super 3+) /Sigma Fe ratio of the associated sillimanite, sapphirine, and ilmenite-hematite, i.e., the measured Fe (super 3+) /Sigma Fe ratios are related to the oxygen fugacity at which the kornerupine crystallized.
Review: PCI has lower risk for procedural stroke but higher risks for angina and repeated revascularization than CABG.

Source Citation Bravata DM, Gienger AL, McDonald KM, et al. Systematic review: the comparative effectiveness of percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass surgery. Ann Intern Me...
Optimal Parsing of Strings

Parsing of strings has been suggested by Lempel and Ziv, as a tool to define the complexity of strings [LZ1] and to compress them [ZL1, ZL2]. Recently, they have shown that the scheme may be modified to handle two dimensional data [LZ2].
The Politics of Modern Central America: Stalemates, Peace Negotiations, and Democratization

Introduction Civil war engulfed Central America in the 1980s. A peace agreement was not signed in El Salvador until late 1992, although the fighting between the government and the FMLN had dissipated to an inconclusive war by the late 1980s. The civil war in Guatemala did not end until 1996, although its military had defeated the insurgents, at a great loss of life, by the mid-1980s. No sooner had Nicaraguans overthrown the Somoza dictatorship than the Sandinistas became embroiled in another civil war, one that pitted them against an irregular army organized by former members of the Somoza’s National Guard (the Contras) and supported by the Reagan administration. The 1980s were the decade of civil war not only on the isthmus, but also throughout the world. At the start of this decade, less than 15 percent of the world’s countries witnessed insurgents contesting governments in bloody conflicts. By the end of this decade, civil war had started or continued in more than 20 percent of all countries (Fearon and Laitin, 2003). The equivalent figure for Central America was high: Three of the seven countries, or more than 40 percent of them, were engulfed in bloody civil wars. The 1980s were also the start of what Samuel Huntington ( 1991 ) called the “Third Wave ” of democratization. At the start of this decade, autocracies existed in most countries. By the end of the 1980s, however, there were more democracies than dictatorships. By the mid-1990s, the majority of political systems allowed all adults at least eighteen years old to cast ballots in regularly scheduled and competitive elections and, to one extent or another, respected the civil rights of the citizenry (Lehoucq, 2011 ).
Integrating long polling with an MVC framework

Long polling is a technique that simulates server push using Ajax requests, allowing Web pages to be updated quickly in response to server events. Unfortu nately, existing long poll approaches are difficult to use, do not work well with server-side frameworks based on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, and are not scalable. Vault is an architecture for long polling that integrates cleanly with MVC frameworks and scales for clustered environments of hundreds of application servers. Vault lets developers focus on writing application-specific code without worrying about the details of how long polling is implemented. We have implemented Vault in two different Web frameworks.
Dendritic Cell Reconstitution Following Autologous Stem Cell Transplant with GM-CSF Support for Multiple Myeloma.

High dose therapy followed by autologous stem cell rescue for the treatment of multiple myeloma has been shown to be associated with improved outcome including increased complete response rates and survival. It is unclear what role, if any, autologous dendritic cell (DC) reconstitution patterns play in determining outcome. DC in peripheral blood (PB) can be divided into two subsets: DC1, which favor Th1 responses and DC2, which favor Th2 responses and in some cases appear to be immunosuppressive. In this companion study to a tandem stem cell transplant research protocol, PB DC subsets were studied just prior to the administration of mobilizing chemotherapy (baseline), at the time of stem cell collection, and on transplant d. 0, 15, 30, 60, and 90 following the first and second transplants. DC were identified as lineage (CD3/14/16/19) negative, HLA-DR + . Of these cells, DC1 = CD11c + CD123 − or CD33 hi CD4 lo , and DC2 = CD11c − CD123 + or CD33 lo/− CD4 + . Precursor DC numbers (Pre-DC1 = CD45 lo CD34 + HLA-DR + CD86 + ; Pre-DC2 = CD45 lo CD34 + HLA-DR + CD10 + ) were also assessed in the stem cell products. GM-CSF (sargramostim) was used as part of the mobilization regimen as well as to enhance neutrophil recovery post-transplant. Twenty patients were enrolled and all are >90 d. post transplant #1. Six patients received a 2 nd transplant. Median followup time is 25 months (range 3–56 months). Seven patients are in complete remission (CR), 7 have had a partial response, 4 have progressive disease, and 2 died of recurrent disease. In most cases, DC1 counts were higher than DC2 counts at all time points examined. At baseline, this was true for 70% of patients, indicating that immediately prior to transplant most patients maintain the DC1>DC2 ratio found in healthy humans. DC subset numbers generally increased over baseline in mobilized PB, and correlated well with the patients’ baseline DC counts. Similarly, baseline DC subset numbers were highly correlated (R>0.7) with the number of pre-DC1 or pre-DC2 found in the stem cell products. No patients with pre-DC1 10/ul) PB DC1 numbers at d. 90 consistently remain in CR. This study is the first to systematically examine DC subset reconstitution following autologous transplant for multiple myeloma. Our results provide preliminary evidence that the presence of high numbers of PB DC1 at d. 90 may predict a good long term prognosis, perhaps by promoting an effective endogenous immune response against residual disease. Furthermore, pre-DC1
Risk Factors for Primary Hemorrhagic Stroke in Adults with Sickle Cell Disease.

Primary hemorrhagic stroke is an uncommon but serious complication of sickle cell disease (SCD) with mortality from 20 to 65%. Proposed risk factors include previous ischemic stroke, aneurysms, low steady-state hemoglobin, high steady-state leukocyte count, acute chest syndrome, and transfusion. We performed a retrospective case-control study to evaluate risk factors for primary hemorrhagic stroke in adults (age >19 years) with SCD hospitalized at Johns Hopkins Hospital from January 1989 to June 2007. Cases had SCD and intraparenchymal (IPH), subarachnoid (SAH), or intraventricular (IVH) hemorrhage confirmed by neuroimaging or analysis of cerebrospinal fluid; traumatic subdural and epidural hemorrhages were excluded. Controls had SCD and ischemic stroke (focal neurological deficits with corresponding cerebral infarcts by neuroimaging). Both were identified by searching the hospital discharge database using ICD-9 codes for acute stroke and SCD and reviewing divisional records. We compared continuous variables by Student’s t-test and calculated odds ratios with exact methods. We identified 7 cases (mean age 31 years, range 19 – 49, 29% male) and 9 controls (mean age 37 years, range 21 – 61, 11% male). All cases had sickle cell anemia (HbSS) and 17% had a prior overt stroke; Controls had HbSS (5/9) and HbSC (4/9) and 50% had a history of overt stroke. Cases presented with impaired mental status (5/6), headache (7/7) and seizure (5/7). Controls presented with hemiparesis (7/8) and rarely seizure (1/7). Three cases had IPH involving the frontal lobe, frontal and parietal lobes, or basal ganglia. Four patients had SAH with IVH (2) and frontal IPH (1). Cerebral angiography identified aneurysms in 3 cases. One case (14%) and no controls died during the initial hospitalization. About 50% of cases (3/6) and controls (4/9) had elevated systolic blood pressure at the time of stroke. Cases had lower steady-state hemoglobin (mean ± SEM 7.4 ± 1 g/dl vs. 9.3 ± 1.1 g/dl), lower steady-state blood pressures (systolic 120 ± 7 vs. 132 ± 11 mm Hg, diastolic 72 ± 7 vs. 73 ± 5 mm Hg) and higher steady-state leukocyte counts (12,912 ± 1007/ul vs. 11,097 ± 2520/ul) than controls, but these differences were not statistically significant. Mean hemoglobin concentration at the time of stroke increased 1.3 g/dl (22%) from steady-state in cases and 0.7 g/dl (10%) in controls. Three cases had simple transfusions (1, 4, and 11 days before their primary hemorrhagic stroke) in preparation for surgery (2) and for aplastic crisis (1). No controls were transfused, but a woman with HbSS had a hemoglobin of 14.5 g/dl at the time of stroke (from excessive erythropoietin administration). In this group of adults with SCD, primary hemorrhagic stroke was associated with genotype and antecedent transfusion. Mortality was lower than that previously described and may reflect improvements in medical care or random variation within a small sample. The contribution of antecedent events and other potentially modifiable risk factors for hemorrhagic stroke in adults with SCD deserves further evaluation.
A unified analysis of the impacts of stochasticity and low inertia of wind generation

This paper proposes a new method to model wind generation in power system reliability evaluation that not only considers the uncertainty of wind speed and mechanical failures of wind turbines but also includes the impacts of wind's low inertia property. Due to the stochasticity and low inertia of wind generation, power system stability and reliability are significantly affected. When wind generators are integrated into the grid, a strategy to ensure the system stability is that wind generators are required to operate at a lower level than their maximum available output power. The effect of this requirement is that not all of the available wind power will be used in the system, which in turn affects the contribution of wind generation in power system availability. The proposed model is implemented using Monte Carlo methods. For every system state, the maximum integrated amount of wind power is determined based on frequency regulation requirements. Then, this amount of power is used along with the stochastic model of wind speed in the reliability modeling. The proposed method is demonstrated on the IEEE RTS system. Power system reliability with and without considering the impacts of wind stochasticity and low inertia are compared to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
The Story Thus Far

This chapter reviews previous work by the author of the present book, Joel Marks, in defense of amorality. It is explained that amorality is intended in the double sense of moral nihilism, or the rejection of moral realism, and moral abolitionism, or the rejection of moral fictionalism. This book develops these ideas further, but now the emphasis is on constructing a positive alternative to morality, which the author calls desirism. The purpose of this chapter is to prepare the reader for the more detailed exposition to follow. In addition, the methodology of the rest of the book is characterized involving extended examples drawn from personal experience rather than only analytic arguments accompanied by rudimentary thought experiments.
Human Immunodeficiency Viruses: Pathogenesis

Despite many years of intense research effort, the pathogenesis of HIV infection and AIDS is still poorly understood. Particularly, it is unclear to what extent the progressive immunodeficiency that follows HIV infection is caused by direct, virus-mediated killing of infected CD4+ T cells as opposed to the indirect consequences of the chronic immune system activation. Important advances in our understanding of HIV/AIDS pathogenesis came from a series of recent studies focusing on: (1) the immunological events characteristic of the acute and chronic phases of infection; (2) the impact of HIV infection at the level of mucosa associated lymphoid tissues; and (3) the specific features of natural, nonpathogenic SIV infection of African nonhuman primates. Collectively, these studies have defined a model for the immunopathogenesis of primate lentiviral infections that is more complex than previously appreciated and that highlights the key role played by host-related, species-specific factors. Ultimately, it is hoped that these advances will provide information that will be useful to the design of interventions able to successfully prevent and/or eradicate HIV infection in humans.
Evaluating Implementation of Check In/Check Out in Alternative Educational Settings: Stakeholder Perspectives

Check in/check out is a research-based intervention that has been used to support the behavior of students with emotional and behavioral disorders that has been investigated across settings. Utilit...
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator for the Primary Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death in Patients With Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy.

Objectives:The benefit of implanting patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICMP) with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention has not been demonstrated in any ra...
Disparities in care for elderly women with endometrial cancer adversely effects survival.

Abstract Purpose Elderly women with endometrial cancer are at increased risk of local recurrence and cancer-specific death compared to younger women. We sought to investigate adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) practice patterns and effects on survival in elderly women with endometrial cancer. Methods Women from the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) with FIGO IA grade 3 to FIGO IVA endometrial cancer diagnosed from 2004–2013 were included. Chi square analysis was used to compare the elderly (80+) and non-elderly women (18–79) and women who received RT and those that did not. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine predictors of receipt of oncologic surgery and adjuvant RT. Univariate and multivariate Cox survival analyses were performed to examine the effect of radiotherapy on survival. Propensity score matching and shared frailty analysis were done in the elderly cohort. Results We identified 48,871 women for analysis. Rates of oncologic surgery were higher in the women 80+ compared with rates of adjuvant RT (95% versus 34%). Rates of RT receipt were higher in non-elderly women (48% versus 34%, p Conclusion Endometrial cancer patients over age 80 have similar rates of oncologic surgery as younger women but are significantly less likely to receive adjuvant RT, and this negatively impacts their survival.
Distance to care, enrollment and loss to follow-up of HIV patients during decentralization of antiretroviral therapy in Neno District, Malawi: A retrospective cohort study.

HIV/AIDS remains the second most common cause of death in low and middle-income countries (LMICs), and only 34% of eligible patients in Africa received antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2013. This study investigated the impact of ART decentralization on patient enrollment and retention in rural Malawi. We reviewed electronic medical records of patients registered in the Neno District ART program from August 1, 2006, when ART first became available, through December 31, 2013. We used GPS data to calculate patient-level distance to care, and examined number of annual ART visits and one-year lost to follow-up (LTFU) in HIV care. The number of ART patients in Neno increased from 48 to 3,949 over the decentralization period. Mean travel distance decreased from 7.3 km when ART was only available at the district hospital to 4.7 km when ART was decentralized to 12 primary health facilities. For patients who transferred from centralized care to nearer health facilities, mean travel distance decreased from 9.5 km to 4.7 km. Following a transfer, the proportion of patients achieving the clinic’s recommended ≥4 annual visits increased from 89% to 99%. In Cox proportional hazards regression, patients living ≥8 km from a health facility had a greater hazard of being LTFU compared to patients <8 km from a facility (adjusted HR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.5–1.9). ART decentralization in Neno District was associated with increased ART enrollment, decreased travel distance, and increased retention in care. Increasing access to ART by reducing travel distance is one strategy to achieve the ART coverage and viral suppression objectives of the 90-90-90 UNAIDS targets in rural impoverished areas.
Raspberry PI based Integrated Autonomous Vehicle using LabVIEW

In this paper an Integrated Autonomous Vehicle (IAV) design is presented. The IAV is an automatic robot which has the capability to reach any corner of the security region without alarming the enemy. It can employ for suspicious bomb detection & demolition, threat detection etc. which is quite risky for soldier in the war field or border security region. This vehicle equipped with different on board sensors, actuators, camera and Raspberry PI to accomplish the security activity. Raspberry PI monitors the controlling action of the robot which is programmed with LabVIEW (Laboratory Virtual Instrument engineering workbench) for efficient interaction and presentation.
Individuals of the common Namib Day Gecko vary in how adaptive simplification alters sprint biomechanics

Locomotion inextricably links biomechanics to ecology as animals maneuver through mechanically challenging environments. Faster individuals are more likely to escape predators, surviving to produce more offspring. Fast sprint speed evolved several times in lizards, including geckos. However, the underlying mechanisms determining performance await discovery in many clades. Novel morphological structures influence these mechanisms by adding complexity to the government of locomotion. Gecko adhesion coevolves with modified muscles, tendons, and reflexes. We explored how the Namib Day Gecko, Rhoptropus afer, sprints on ecologically relevant substrates. Locomotion requires that many moving parts of the animal work together; we found knee and ankle extension are the principal drivers of speed on a level surface while contributions to sprinting uphill are more evenly distributed among motions of the femur, knee, and ankle. Although geckos are thought to propel themselves with specialized, proximally located muscles that retract and rotate the femur, we show with path analysis that locomotion is altered in this secondarily terrestrial gecko. We present evidence of intraspecific variation in the use of adhesive toe pads and suggest that the subdigital adhesive toe pad may increase sprint speed in this species. We argue kinematics coevolve with the secondarily terrestrial lifestyle of this species.
Specification and Refinement of a Conflict-Free Distributed Firewall Configuration Language

Multiple firewalls typically cooperate to provide security properties for a network, despite the fact that these firewalls are often spatially distributed and configured in isolation. Without a global view of the network configuration, such a system is ripe for misconfiguration, causing conflicts and major security vulnerabilities. We propose FLIP, a high-level firewall configuration policy language for traffic access control, to enforce security and ensure seamless configuration management. In FLIP, firewall security policies are defined as high-level service-oriented goals, which can be translated automatically into access control rules to be distributed to appropriate enforcement devices. FLIP guarantees that the rules generated will be conflict-free, both on individual firewall and between firewalls. We prove that the translation algorithm is both sound and complete. FLIP supports policy inheritance and customization features that enable defining a global firewall policy for large-scale enterprise network quickly and accurately. Through a case study, we argue that firewall policy management for large-scale networks is efficient and accurate using FLIP.
Large scale anisotropies in sheared colloidal gels

The steady shear of weak colloidal gels results in vorticity aligned density fluctuations. These have been measured in neutron scattering and flow dichroism experiments and observed with microscopy coupled with rheometer tools of varying geometry. The origins of this instability remain a mystery, and discrete element simulations of colloidal gels have to date failed to reproduce the phenomena. Novel Brownian Dynamics simulations with hydrodynamic interactions show that this instability is fluid mechanical in origin, and results from long-ranged hydrodynamic interactions, which stabilize the vorticity aligned flocs under flow. Squeeze flows between vorticity aligned flocs prevent collisions and realignment under flow, thus promoting stability of large-scale, vorticity aligned density fluctuations. A single force scale—the most probable rupture force for the intercolloid bonds—collapses the microstructural and rheological data, including the characteristic size of the vorticity aligned flocs and the virial ...
Improved model and experimental validation of deformation in fused filament fabrication of polylactic acid

RepRaps (self-replicating rapid prototypers), which 3D print objects using fused filament fabrication (FFF), have evolved rapidly since their open-source introduction. These 3D printers have primarily been limited to desktop sizes of volumes of ~ 8000 cm3, which has limited the attention of the scientific community to investigating deformation of common thermoplastics such as polylactic acid (PLA) used in FFF printing. The only existing physically relevant deformation model was expanded here to use a physics-based temperature gradient instead of a step function. This was necessary to generalize the model to 3D printing in a room temperature environment without a heated chamber. The thermal equation was calibrated using thermal measurements and validated by measuring curvatures in printed objects. The results confirm that this is a valid model for predicting warpage of thin vertical walls of PLA. In addition, the effect of annealing was examined. It was found that at a temperature of 50 °C, no shrinkage or crystallization takes place, but at 90 °C the PLA rapidly crystallizes to around 20% crystallinity. This indicates that heated bed temperatures should be maintained at 50 °C or lower to avoid print failure (premature substrate release) with PLA. At 90 °C, the annealing is accompanied by a 5% size decrease in both horizontal dimensions, but an 8% increase in the vertical dimension. Thus, the volume decreased by only 3%. This observation may lead to potential methods of improving slicing of printing large PLA objects with FFF.
Review: Reinstallation of the South Asian Galleries

Reinstallation of the South Asian Galleries Philadelphia Museum of Art October 2016 Perhaps first among the Philadelphia Museum of Art's many distinctions is the extent to which historic architecture is integrated into its galleries—vestiges, together with period rooms, of director Fiske Kimball's transformation of the institution from a museum of craft to one of contextualized material culture.1 Nowhere is this legacy more evident today than along the approach to the museum's South Asian collection, via the south wing's central galleries, through a series of medieval European architectural ensembles. The eastward turn to the wing's outer arm corresponds to an analogous cultural shift. The view along this axis reveals, in nested succession, a barrel-vaulted Sassanian portal, an archway flanked by Safavid tile work, and finally, the figured granite pillars of a South Indian temple hall (Figure 1). Figure 1 Interior of a pillared temple hall from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, ca. 1550, installed in the South Asian Galleries, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2016 (photo courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art). So strong is the pull along this axis of monumental architecture that only the most astute might notice a small doorway—to an introductory gallery—on the right. The rest of us, indulgently, will proceed ahead to the South Asian galleries’ centerpiece: an assemblage of architectural elements from …
Metformin in the first trimester and risks for specific birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study.

Background We assessed associations between first-trimester metformin use for pregestational diabetes and specific major birth defects. Methods We compared risks associated with first-trimester metformin use by diabetic women to nondiabetic women on no diabetes medication; we calculated crude odds ratios by exact logistic regression and adjusted by inverse probability weighting. Confounding by diabetes was assessed by comparing risks for metformin-exposed diabetic women to those for insulin-exposed diabetics and nondiabetics treated with metformin for subfertililty. Results Among 9,279 nonmalformed controls and 24,375 malformed cases, diabetics who used metformin (with or without insulin) had increased adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for several birth defects associated with diabetes. However, women treated with metformin for subfertility had aORs similar to or lower than those for diabetic metformin users, and many approximated the null. For atrial septal defect secundum, anorectal defects, and limb reduction defects, the estimates for metformin when used for subfertility were 2-3-fold. Conclusion While metformin use for diabetes was associated with an increased risk of many birth defects, when metformin was used for subfertility most defects had aORs that approximated the null, while only three defects had modestly increased aORs, two of which had lower confidence bounds that included the null. Our study does not suggest that metformin poses an appreciable risk for major birth defects, but further studies are necessary.
1103 What are we doing about children mining gold

Introduction There is concern in the Philippines, Indonesia, central Africa, and South America related to children’s employment in small scale gold mines (SSGM). Ages range from 8 to 16 years, although statistics are lacking. We know children work in SSGM because they are poor; world gold prices keep them labouring. There is appeal to banning youth from mines, and creating no children in gold processing supply lines. These approaches appear to be the most ethical solutions, however this issue is more complex. Definition of problem Evidence from Human Rights Watch indicates there are as many as 1,000,000 children in SSGM. There are risks of traumatic injury, dermatitis and diving risks in Philippines, lead poisoning in Africa, mercury (Hg) intoxication, and Hg contamination of local waters. There are remediation challenges, especially where mine tailings meet aquatic settings. Environmental health results Local governments, NGOs, health providers, and mining companies must provide funding and alternatives such as schooling, and providing jobs to replant trees. Certify that no children Discussion Local university medical/public health schools should sponsor studies of children who are now or were engaged in mining, examining injury rates, nervous system effects, effects of mine dusts--silica and lead, and times in water (in Philippines and Indonesia). These endeavours should also include studies of adult miners, examining the risks of silicosis/lung disease, autoimmune/kidney disease, and cancers based on industrial hygiene measures of silica and radiation. We need innovative means to remediate environmental damage from gold mining. We need leadership in occupational health, education, exposure assessment/industrial hygiene to reduce the numbers of children in SSGM.
Impact of Genetic Variation on CRISPR-Cas Targeting.

Abstract The CRISPR-CRISPR-associated (Cas) nuclease system offers the ability to perform unprecedented functional genetic experiments and the promise of therapy for a variety of genetic disorders. The understanding of factors contributing to CRISPR targeting efficacy and specificity continues to evolve. As CRISPR systems rely on Watson–Crick base pairing to ultimately mediate genomic cleavage, it logically follows that genetic variation would affect CRISPR targeting by increasing or decreasing sequence homology at on-target and off-target sites or by altering protospacer adjacent motifs. Numerous efforts have been made to document the extent of human genetic variation, which can serve as resources to understand and mitigate the effect of genetic variation on CRISPR targeting. Here, we review efforts to elucidate the effect of human genetic variation on CRISPR targeting at on-target and off-target sites with considerations for laboratory experiments and clinical translation of CRISPR-based therapies.
Arthritis gene therapy is becoming a reality

After more than 25 years of development, arthritis gene therapy is finally entering clinical practice. In South Korea, a gene therapeutic has been approved for the treatment of osteoarthritis, and other gene therapeutics are in the pipeline elsewhere. Genetic medicines for arthritis should enter the rheumatological armamentarium in the foreseeable future.
BB-Cl-Amidine as a novel therapeutic for canine and feline mammary cancer via activation of the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway

Mammary cancer is highly prevalent in dogs and cats and results in a poor prognosis due to critically lacking viable treatment options. Recent human and mouse studies have suggested that inhibiting peptidyl arginine deiminase enzymes (PAD) may be a novel breast cancer therapy. Based on the similarities between human breast cancer and mammary cancer in dogs and cats, we hypothesized that PAD inhibitors would also be an effective treatment for mammary cancer in these animals. Canine and feline mammary cancer cell lines were treated with BB-Cl-Amidine (BB-CLA) and evaluated for viability and tumorigenicity. Endoplasmic reticulum stress was tested by western blot, immunofluorescence, and quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Canine and feline mammary cancer xenograft models were created using NOD scid gamma (NSG) mice, and were treated with BB-CLA for two weeks. We found that BB-CLA reduced viability and tumorigenicity of canine and feline mammary cancer cell lines in vitro. Additionally, we demonstrated that BB-CLA activates the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway in these cells by downregulating 78 kDa Glucose-regulated Protein (GRP78), a potential target in breast cancer for molecular therapy, and upregulating the downstream target gene DNA Damage Inducible Transcript 3 (DDIT3). Finally, we established a mouse xenograft model of both canine and feline mammary cancer in which we preliminarily tested the effects of BB-CLA in vivo. We propose that our established mouse xenograft models will be useful for the study of mammary cancer in dogs and cats, and furthermore, that BB-CLA has potential as a novel therapeutic for mammary cancer in these species.
Geological Information from Satellite Surveys of the Mediterranean Region

Satellite imagery has provided a powerful new tool for research dealing with the geological evolution of the Mediterranean region. Lineaments identified on satellite images illustrate the existence of all classes of brittle fractures in the upper crust. Lineament patterns suggest the tectonic patterns for a given region, but it is necessary to “field check” any area for which lineament maps are prepared. It is critical that such studies be carried out within known morphotectonic regions or smaller domains in which geologic parameters are similar.
Static Teams and Stochastic Games

Radner’s solution of the static team decision problem is revisited. A careful and complete statement of the static decentralized optimization problem, also referred to as the team decision problem, is given. Decentralized optimization is considered in the framework of nonzero-sum game theory, and the impact of the partial information pattern on the structure of the optimal strategies is analyzed. The complete solution of the static decentralized multivariate Quadratic Gaussian (QG) optimization problem is obtained.