cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of impaired vision during dual-task walking in young and older adults.

Abstract While cognitive-motor interference in dual-task activities is well established, it is still unknown how such interference is influenced by concurrent visual challenges. Nineteen community-dwelling healthy, cognitively intact, older adults (Mean ± SD = 71.45 ± 1.25 years, 6 males) and nineteen young adults (Mean ± SD = 22.25 ± 0.68 years, 4 males) performed a cognitive-single-task (serial subtraction by 3), a walking-single-task and a cognitive-walking-dual-task under normal, blurred and peripheral-vision-loss conditions (artificially imposed using goggles). Gait parameters and the number of correct responses were measured. Dual task costs for both walking and cognition were computed. Results showed that higher walking cost was seen with impaired vision (p = 0.05) and with older adults (p = 0.03); greater cognitive cost was seen with impaired vision (p = 0.01), but no difference in cognitive cost was seen between young and older adults. Thus, when faced with impaired vision, both young and older adults appear to allocate less attention to cognition than to walking, and thus prioritize walking. Future work should explore whether dual-task training under visual challenge could reduce cognitive-motor interference and reduce fall risks in older adults.
Abstract 5182: Targeting abnormal metabolism downstream of MYC in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors (AT/RT) are deadly infantile brain tumors in dire need of new, targeted therapies. Recent molecular analysis revealed considerable tumor heterogeneity subdividing AT/RT into 3 distinct groups. The MYC subgroup has a dismal 5 year survival of 18.5%. MYC is known to drive reliance on glutamine for cellular metabolism suggesting that high-MYC expressing neoplasms may be sensitive to glutamine metabolic inhibitors. 6-Diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (DON) is a glutamine antagonist that decreases the tumorigenicity of high MYC expressing models of medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma . We hypothesize that DON will reduce the tumorigenicity of the MYC subgroup of AT/RT. High levels of c-MYC protein are expressed in about 1/3 of human AT/RT (Immunohistochemistry for c-MYC on 22 human AT/RT, H-score > 1 standard deviation over the median considered high c-MYC expression). Similarly two of six of AT/RT cell lines expressed high levels of c-MYC protein by western blot. DON treatment slowed cell growth of high c-MYC expressing AT/RT cell lines BT12 and CHLA06 (MTS assay p Citation Format: Sabrina Wang, Jeffrey Rubens, Sariah Allen, Brent Orr, Charles Eberhart, Eric Raabe. Targeting abnormal metabolism downstream of MYC in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5182. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5182
Learning from Experience: Coping with Hindsight Bias and Ambiguity

Forecasts are made with foresight but evaluated with hindsight. Knowing what has happened can degrade these evaluations, reducing forecasters’ ability to learn from experience. Hindsight knowledge can also reduce the chances that forecasters will be judged fairly by those who rely on their work. Ambiguous forecasts create further barriers to evaluation and learning, making it hard to know just what they are predicting or how accurate they have been. Practitioners can reduce these threats by attending to how forecasts are formulated, communicated, and evaluated.
Association of Optic Nerve Head Drusen With Best Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy: A Case Series

Purpose To report the association of optic nerve head (ONH) drusen with Best vitelliform macular dystrophy (BVMD). Methods Chart review. Patients Five patients from 3 families. Results Multimodal imaging and ophthalmic examination demonstrated findings consistent with ONH drusen, in association with BVMD, in 5 patients. Conclusion We report the association of BVMD with ONH drusen in 5 patients. This combination has previously been reported only once. We recommend that patients with a diagnosis of BVMD undergo autofluorescence and ultrasound imaging of the optic nerve to help facilitate this diagnosis, as some ONH drusen can be buried.
Endovascular interventions decrease length of hospitalization and are cost-effective in acute mesenteric ischemia.

Abstract Objective Acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) continues to be one of the most devastating diagnoses requiring emergent vascular intervention. There is a national trend toward increased use of endovascular procedures, with improved survival for the treatment of these patients. Our aim was to evaluate whether this trend has changed the treatment of AMI and the subsequent impact on length of hospitalization and hospitalization costs. Methods We identified all patients admitted for AMI from the National Inpatient Sample from 2004 to 2014 who received open surgical revascularization (OPEN) or an endovascular intervention (ENDO). Primary end points included length of hospital stay and cost of hospitalization. Our secondary end points included acute kidney injury (AKI), in-hospital mortality, and routine discharge. Results Among 10,381 discharges identified in the data set, 3833 (37%; 97.5% confidence interval [CI], 35%-39%) were male patients with a mean age of 69 years (range, 18-98 years); 4543 (44%; 97.5% CI, 41%-47%) patients were treated ENDO, and 5839 (56%; 97.5% CI, 53%-59%) patients were treated OPEN. Although a higher proportion of patients in the ENDO group (28%; 97.5% CI, 24%-31%) vs the OPEN group (14%; 97.5% CI, 11%-16%) had a moderate to severe Charlson Comorbidity Index ( P P P P P Conclusions Although the rate of ENDO continues to rise nationally, it still has not surpassed OPEN revascularization in the face of AMI. Patients treated endovascularly demonstrated one-third the rate of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 3.0; 97.5% CI, 2.2-4.1), an increased hazard ratio for discharge alive (hazard ratio, 2.27; 97.5% CI, 2.00-2.58), and a cost saving of $9196 (97.5% CI, $3797-$14,595) per hospitalization. Furthermore, they were less likely to develop AKI and to be discharged home after hospitalization.
Limiting role of crystalline domain orientation on the modulus and strength of aramid fibers

Abstract The evolution of crystalline domain orientation vs. mechanical properties of aramid fibers under mechanical loading was investigated for initial crystalline domain orientations between 16.7° and 9.7°. The latter resulted in a broad range of longitudinal moduli between 66 GPa and 119 GPa but tensile strengths in the narrow range of 3.5–4.0 GPa. Mechanical conditioning up to 90% of the fiber tensile strength increased the initial modulus converging to 100 GPa which corresponds to a stable crystalline domain orientation of 11.6°, while the unloading modulus at stresses near the tensile strength converged to ∼165 GPa which approaches the theoretical modulus of 220 GPa. On the contrary, the tensile strength remained unchanged with increasing crystalline domain orientation, and was shown to be independent of the fiber gauge length, thus implying that failure is not due to flaws obeying weakest link statistics. Instead, short gauge length tests (200 μm) showed failure initiation at the fiber skin followed by crack propagation at the skin-core interface, resulting in extrusion of the fiber core, which points to the skin-core interface as an important factor limiting the tensile strength of this class of fibers.
The Distribution of Outcomes for a Networked Economy

We develop a theoretical framework and an accompanying set of tools for mapping the topologies of networks in the economy to different probability distributions of interest. We apply these tools to analytically show how the topology of an agent interaction network enables non-fundamental fluctuations in aggregate macroeconomic sentiment, thereby providing microfoundations for animal spirits; as the network's topology changes, we can compute how the shape of the corresponding distribution of aggregate sentiment adjusts. We can moreover apply these tools to carry out closed-form analysis of complex economic systems and to construct error bounds about the paths of aggregated networked economies.
Existence of Optimal Controls for a Bi-Level Optimal Control Problem

In this paper we consider a class of bi-level optimal control problems. Both the upper and lower level problems are formulated as ordinary optimal control models of Lagrange type. Our goal is to formulate and prove a general existence theorem for an optimal solution based on classical compactness, convexity and seminormality conditions originating in the work of L. Tonelli for ordinary calculus of variations problems and extended to optimal control problems by L. Cesari, R.T. Rockafellar, L. Berkovitz and others. A distinguishing feature of our result is that we do not require the lower level problem to have a unique optimal solution corresponding to each admissible strategy of the upper level problem.
Urology in the Nursing Home

Urologists who have included nursing home consultations in their practices note the presence of multiple urologic problems in these patients: incontinence and dysfunctional voiding, use and management of indwelling catheters, asymptomatic bacteriuria, symptomatic UTI, hematuria, sexuality; management of prostate, bladder and renal cancer, and stone disease. Each of these problems engenders discussion in this chapter, which concludes with the recommendation that urologists incorporate elderly long-term care patients in their schedules.
Predicting Factors Associated with Postoperative Hypotension following Carotid Artery Stenting.

Background Prolonged hemodynamic instability after carotid artery stenting (CAS) has been associated with increased incidence of stroke and other major adverse events. The objective of this study is to determine the factors associated with hypotension following CAS. In particular, this study evaluates whether involvement of the carotid bifurcation/bulb and degree of calcification can predict postoperative hypotension. Methods A retrospective review of 90 CASs performed in 88 patients at a single tertiary center was completed. In patients with proximal internal carotid stenosis involving the carotid bifurcation, the extent of bifurcation/bulb calcification on preoperative computed tomography angiography was assessed using a scoring system. Calcium scores were assigned based on the percent of circumferential calcification of carotid bifurcation as follows: grade 1, 90%. Perioperative factors associated with prolonged postoperative hypotension requiring vasopressor infusion were analyzed. Results Overall, postoperative hypotension requiring vasopressors occurred in 26 (28.9%) of CAS. There were no differences in baseline demographics, comorbidities, or CAS indication between patients who required postoperative vasopressors for hypotension and those who did not. The majority of patients (64.4%) were on 2 or more antihypertensive medications preoperatively. Stenosis involved carotid bifurcation in 64 (71.1%) cases. Of these, 27 (42.2%) were grade 1, 19 (29.7%) were grade 2, 10 (15.6%) were grade 3, and 8 (12.5%) were grade 4 based on our calcium scoring system. On risk-adjusted analysis, carotid bifurcation/bulb involvement (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–18.5) and preoperative regimen of 2 or more antihypertensives (aOR 4.2, 95% CI 1.1–16.0) were independent predictors of hypotension requiring vasopressors following CAS. Among patients with carotid bifurcation involvement, severity of calcium score was not a significant predictor of postoperative hypotension. Conclusions CAS for carotid stenosis involving the carotid bifurcation/bulb is associated with a higher risk for postoperative hypotension requiring vasopressors. Patients with preoperative hypertension requiring 2 or more antihypertensive medications are also at increased risk. However, severity of carotid bifurcation calcification is not a significant predictor of need for postoperative vasopressors.
Effects of Media Sensationalization on Cognitive Performance and Post Concussive Symptoms.

Objectives: The current study aimed to examine if televised media about mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) framed in a sensationalized manner had a negative impact on cognitive functioning and persistent mTBI symptoms. Methods: One hundred two participants (MAge=37.16; SD=22.61) with a history of post-acute mTBI, recruited through a community research registry and an undergraduate recruitment system, were included in this study. Participants were assessed with a measure of health literacy, the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA), and randomized to watch either a sensationalized or non-sensationalized news clip focused on mTBI. They were then assessed with the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT), Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ), Patient Reported Outcome Measures Information System (PROMIS) Depression scale, and the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edition (PCL-5). Results: Bayesian analyses indicated that sensationalized media—alone (βPASAT=−0.08; βRPQ=−0.08) or in the context of covariates (βPASAT=−0.11; βRPQ=−0.14)—was not a strong predictor of PASAT score or post-concussion syndrome symptom severity. Conclusions: Although media sensationalization of mTBI symptoms is not desirable, this study suggests that one brief exposure to sensationalized information may not have a meaningful immediate impact on the cognitive functioning or symptom reporting of individuals with a history of mTBI. Future research should examine long-term and downstream effects of sensationalized media reporting in samples with greater diversity of TBI history. (JINS, 2019, 25, 90–100)
La frontera chileno-peruana y las prácticas de fronterización en perspectiva de integración: una propuesta de discusión: Chilean-peruvian border and integrational perspective in «borderization»: propposal for discussion

Este articulo busca reflexionar y abrir un dialogo de como los chilenos y peruanos estamos pensando y representando nuestras relaciones fronterizas y las posibilidadesde integracion en un escenario, como el actual, inundado de dinamicas socioculturales complejas y multiples, poniendo el acento en la necesidad de generar nuevasposibilidades de entender y definir el Estado-nacion, la nacion, la frontera y las practicas de fronterizacion.
Reflections of an international graduate student in a North American Communication Department

This essay examines various aspects of my intellectual experience as an international graduate student studying in a North American university grappling with questions of postcolonial life in Afric...
Constructive Alignment Beyond Content: Assessing Professional Skills in Student Group Interactions and Written Work

Many recent reports have called for the development of professional skills as part of a quality undergraduate experience to better prepare college graduates to enter the workforce; this preparation requires more explicit assessment of these skills in chemistry and other STEM fields. While professional skills may be part of programmatic goals, the development and assessment of these skills must largely take place as part of course experiences. However, skill development remains an implicit component of coursework that is not addressed in a meaningful way due to a lack of tools and strategies for assessing skill development and providing feedback to students. To address this need, rubrics were developed as part of the Enhancing Learning by Improving Process Skills in STEM (ELIPSS) Project to assess evidence of information processing, critical thinking, problem solving, communication, teamwork, management, and metacognition skills in student written work and group interactions. Here, we report a broad overview of how the rubrics have been implemented in multiple learning environments including detailed descriptions of two case studies. Results from faculty surveys and analysis of these case studies indicate that instructors have changed their curricula to include more explicit assessment of professional skills using a variety of instructional practices. Interviews with teaching assistants and students indicate that while the teaching assistants obtained a clearer understanding of how to assess professional skills in both written work and group interactions, the students continue to need more specific feedback in order to improve their skills.
Palatal evaluation and treatment in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome

Palatal involvement occurs commonly in patients with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22qDS), and includes palatal clefting and velopharyngeal dysfunction in the absence of overt or submucous clefts. The reported incidence and distribution of palatal abnormalities vary in the literature. The aim of this article is to revisit the incidence and presenting features of palatal abnormalities in a large cohort of patients with 22qDS, summarize the surgical treatments performed in this cohort, and provide an overview of surgical treatment protocols and management guidelines for palatal abnormalities in this syndrome. Charts of 1,121 patients seen through the 22q and You Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were reviewed for palatal status, demographic factors, deletion size, and corrective surgical procedures. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson's chi-squared test to identify differences between gender, deletion size, and palatal abnormality. Of the patients with complete evaluations, 67% were found to have a palatal abnormality. The most common finding was velopharyngeal dysfunction in 55.2% of patients, and in 33.3% of patients, this occurred in the absence of palatal clefting. There was no significant difference in the incidence of palatal abnormalities by gender; however, a difference was noted among race (p < 0.01) and deletion sizes (p < 0.01). For example, Caucasian and Asian patients presented with a much higher prevalence of palatal abnormalities, and conversely those with nested deletions presented with a much lower rate of palatal defects. Overall, 26.9% of patients underwent palatal surgery, and the most common indication was velopharyngeal dysfunction. Palatal abnormalities are a hallmark feature of 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome; understanding the incidence, presenting features, and treatment protocols are essential for practitioners counseling and treating families affected with this disorder.
Evaluating congenital syphilis in a reverse sequence testing environment

Objectives To examine the effect of maternal reverse-sequence (RS) syphilis screening on management of infants at risk for congenital syphilis (CS) using a standardized approach. Study design A retrospective study from 2011 to 2014 at an academic medical center using RS testing, involving chemiluminescent immunoassay (CIA), rapid plasma reagin (RPR), and fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorption (FTA-ABS) assays for syphilis. Clinical management and outcomes of infants born to mothers with discordant (CIA+/RPR-/FTA+) serology were compared with national or internal guidelines. Results Sixty-three infants were classified as discordant (n = 21), presumed false positive (CIA+/RPR-/FTA-; n = 16), or true positive (CIA+/RPR+; n = 26) based on maternal serology. Only 24% of cases in the discordant group underwent recommended full evaluation. None of the evaluated infants in the discordant group (n = 8) were diagnosed with CS. Conclusions Management of infants with discordant maternal RS serology remained reliant on clinical judgment. In our high-risk population, RS testing did not identify additional cases of CS.
Chaotic Dynamics of Stellar Spin in Binaries and the Production of Misaligned Hot Jupiters

Motivated by observed hot Jupiter systems with high stellar obliquities, we examine the dynamics of stellar spin in planetary systems with distant stellar companions, with inclinations sufficiently high so that the planet undergoes Kozai-Lidov oscillations. In this scenario, the stellar spin axis undergoes complex (and often chaotic) motion. We describe the stellar spin dynamics, highlight the importance of the stellar spin properties, and show that this complex evolution can be preserved in the final distributions of obliquity angles.
Collagen cross-linking and bone pathobiology

Abstract Since 2009, new insights into the control of collagen cross-linking mechanisms in bone have emerged from discoveries of the effects of rare forms of the genetic brittle bone disease osteogenesis imperfecta. In our own work, we have developed peptide mass spectrometric methods for profiling collagen posttranslational modifications, including cross-linking. In normal bone, the unique quality of collagen cross-linking is regulated by the state of hydroxylation of telopeptides and certain triple-helical domain lysines, which are under complex control mechanisms in the endoplasmic reticulum. When telopeptide, aldehyde-forming lysines are underhydroxylated fewer chemically stable cross-links form, and when overhydroxylated, fewer labile cross-links form. Both states are associated with brittle bones and distinct osteogenesis imperfecta variants. These new insights are discussed along with a review of concepts of lysyl oxidase-mediated collagen cross-linking in bone and other tissues, together with a related perspective on the significance of cross-linking by nonenzymatic glycation.
Child mortality and socioeconomic status in sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines under-five mortality (U5MR) trends in sub-Saharan Africa and the association between socio-economic status - indicated by per capita income illiteracy urbanization - and under-five mortality between 1960 and 2000. It shows substantial decline in U5MR in all Sub-Saharan Africa regions between 1970 and 1990. Regional differentials among West Central and East Africa that existed in the 1960s have largely disappeared by 1990. However the decline in U5MR appears to have stalled in 1990s and some countries have experienced increases. The analyses show a consistent negative relationship between U5MR and per capita income but a given income implies lower U5MR as one moves towards the present. There is also a significant positive association between illiteracy and U5MR and negative association between urbanization and U5MR. However the effects of urbanization and illiteracy have diminished in the past decade while the effect of per capita income has increased. (authors)
Inside and out: Knowing Chinese and US models of ministry:

Increasing numbers of US millennial missionaries are working alongside Chinese house church pastors in China, and conflicts between the two groups have been noted. To date, a majority of scholarly ...
An Unusual Case of Neisseria flavescens/subflava Group Tricuspid Valve Endocarditis in a Patient With Previously Treated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is classified as an infection of any cardiac valve or endocardial surface and is often associated with high morbidity and mortality. Certain bacteria such as gram-positive cocci and viridans group streptococci have high predilection for both naive and damaged cardiac valvular tissues, accounting for the majority of IE cases. In very infrequent instances, gram-negative bacteria (GNB), more specifically non-meningococcal, non-gonococcal GNB, have been shown to cause IE. The following is a case of a young male diagnosed with Neisseria flavescens/subflava tricuspid valve endocarditis after being previously treated for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) endocarditis.
Optimizing care of breast cancer patients from low resource countries who immigrate to New York City: A case series from a large public hospital

Global disparities in breast cancer care become particularly evident when patients seek definitive care in the United States (USA) after receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and initiating care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We performed a retrospective review of 26 patients with breast cancer who immigrated from LMICs and received care at Bellevue Hospital. Fifteen (58%) presented with advanced disease (stage III or IV), including 7 (27%). All 26 patients required diagnostic work-up in the USA, and all 19 (73.1%) patients with stage 0-III disease underwent surgical excision. Patients from LMICs frequently present with advanced disease and in varying stages of breast cancer treatment. Improving communication with previous providers and fostering a collaborative approach with the international community are essential to developing efficacious treatment plans and improving oncologic outcomes.
Personal Jurisdiction: The Walls Blocking an Appeal to Rationality

Personal jurisdiction is a gateway to the judicial system. Without it, a plaintiff cannot vindicate her claims and the community cannot benefit from private enforcement of the law. After a 21-year hiatus from the field, the Supreme Court decided six personal jurisdiction cases between 2011 and 2017. Scholars have criticized the Court's constriction of personal jurisdiction in this "new era." In a forthcoming article, Professor Adam Steinman urges an interesting tack in an effort to expand forum availability. He would import "remedial rationality" into the equation, asking whether there is a "rational basis" for a court to hear a given case. He identifies three fact patterns in which his approach could remedy the current sclerotic state of jurisdiction: the "home state," "safety net," and "aggregation" scenarios. This piece responds to Professor Steinman's proposal, and concludes that the appeal to rationality is tantamount to an appeal to the reasonableness analysis which is part of the International Shoe test. The appeal seems doomed by the Court's efforts, including efforts in the new era, to subjugate the assessment of reasonableness to the assessment of whether defendant forged a volitional tie with the forum.
Carcass and meat quality of goats supplemented with tannin-rich peanut skin

Thirty-two Kiko crossbred male goats (10 mo old, BW = 42.2 ± 2.28 kg) were offered a supplement containing 0, 25, 50, or 75% tannin-rich peanut skin (PS; Arachis hypogaea L.) to determine the effect of PS on physicochemical characteristics of goat meat (chevon). After a 57 d feeding trial, goats were harvested using the USDA standard procedures. After 24 h chilling storage (2 °C), Longissimus muscle (LM) pH was measured from individual carcasses and then were fabricated into primal cuts, and collected 2.5-cm thick loin chops and fat depots to analyze the physicochemical characteristics of chevon. The LM pH values of goats supplemented with the four different concentrations of PS were not significantly different. Furthermore, no significant differences were found in the carcass traits among experimental goats. Loin chops from goats supplemented with 75% PS had higher (P < 0.05) CIE L* (lightness), a* (redness) and b* (yellowness) values than those from goats fed 0% PS supplement (control). The LM from goats supplemented with 50% PS had a higher (P < 0.05) fat content than that from goats fed the control. Furthermore, the LM from goats supplemented with 25% PS had higher (P < 0.05) thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) values than that from goats fed the control. No significant differences were found in the Warner-Bratzler shear values and cooking losses of loin chops from goats supplemented with the four different concentrations of PS. Compared with goats fed the control, goats supplemented with 50% PS had a lower (P < 0.05) level of palmitic acid (C16:0) in the LM (intramuscular fat); and a lower (P < 0.05) level of myristic acid (C14:0), but a higher (P < 0.05) level of arachidic acid (C20:0) in the kidney fat. Furthermore, goats supplemented with either 25% or 75% PS had lower concentrations of conjugated linoleic acid (C18:2, CLA) and arachidonic acid (C20:4n6) or palmitoleic acid (C16:1n7) and vaccenic acid (C18:1n11, trans), respectively. The results indicated that supplementing tannin-rich peanut skin in the meat goats’ diet might improve the appearance of chevon and increase its intramuscular fat content, whereas the resulting chevon might be more susceptible to the lipid oxidation.
Applied Anatomy for Treatment of Geriatric Hip Fractures

Treatment of fractures about the hip in the elderly necessitates a deep knowledge about the hip joint and surrounding structures. Bony anatomy, muscular attachments, capsular boundaries, and vascular supply all greatly affect the outcome of fracture care and should be well understood to provide optimal patient care. In the aging population, characteristics of bone quality, shape, and healing potential change; thus, treatment strategies change as well. The risk of avascular necrosis of the femoral head is of primary concern in this population to avoid pain, dysfunction, and additional surgery. Surgical treatment aims to maintain physiologic reserve with minimal disruption of soft tissue when possible to expedite recovery and improve outcomes.
Clinical Trials and the Right to Remain Silent

This article is prompted by a recent case involving Yale investigators who were served a subpoena for clinical trial records for a therapeutic by a litigant who was not part of that trial but was suing in tort. It discusses the duty of clinical investigators to release their data in response to a subpoena, and the potential threat to the integrity of the clinical trial and to the investigators’ scientific interests that such a disclosure could pose. Noting that the balance of interests varies depending on the stage of the clinical trial, we propose intermediate solutions for safeguarding the privacy of research participants and preventing the loss of integrity of clinical trials while still allowing sufficient access to data to serve the purposes of justice.
Bengali Handwritten Grapheme Classification: Deep Learning Approach

Despite being one of the most spoken languages in the world ($6^{th}$ based on population), research regarding Bengali handwritten grapheme (smallest functional unit of a writing system) classification has not been explored widely compared to other prominent languages. Moreover, the large number of combinations of graphemes in the Bengali language makes this classification task very challenging. With an effort to contribute to this research problem, we participate in a Kaggle competition \cite{kaggle_link} where the challenge is to separately classify three constituent elements of a Bengali grapheme in the image: grapheme root, vowel diacritics, and consonant diacritics. We explore the performances of some existing neural network models such as Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) and state of the art ResNet50. To further improve the performance we propose our own convolution neural network (CNN) model for Bengali grapheme classification with validation root accuracy 95.32\%, vowel accuracy 98.61\%, and consonant accuracy 98.76\%. We also explore Region Proposal Network (RPN) using VGGNet with a limited setting that can be a potential future direction to improve the performance.
Slower Rate of Fat Absorption at Dinner versus Lunch is Associated with Lower Concentrations of Triacylglycerols (TG) the Following Morning

High postprandial TG are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and little is known about the impact of successive meals on the circadian TG pattern. Here, we measured the rate of fat absorption during two sequential meals to determine how lipid processing after dinner contributes to fasting TG concentrations the next morning. Non-diabetic adults (n=6, BMI 20-49, fasting TG 50-198 mg/dL) were fed a low-fat breakfast, followed by a lunch and dinner of identical composition (35% fat, 46% carbohydrates and 18% protein). Stable isotopes were added to lunch (d31-tripalmitin) and dinner (13C4-tripalmitin) to measure the kinetics of dietary fat absorption in TRL-TG by GC/MS. Blood samples were taken intermittently throughout the day and through the next morning. For insulin and glucose, the AUCs were not significantly different between the two meals. However, the rate of fat absorption was 1.9-fold higher after lunch than dinner (0.27±0.03 vs 0.14±0.04 mmol/L/h, respectively; P=0.04). Interestingly, fast...
Adolescent nicotine exposure fails to impact cocaine reward, aversion and self-administration in adult male rats.

Abstract The present experiments examined the effects of adolescent nicotine pre-exposure on the rewarding and aversive effects of cocaine and on cocaine self-administration in adult male rats. In Experiment 1, adolescent Sprague–Dawley rats (postnatal days 28–43) were given once daily injections of nicotine (0.6 mg/kg) or vehicle and then tested for the aversive and rewarding effects of cocaine in a combined conditioned taste avoidance (CTA)/conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure in adulthood. In Experiment 2, adolescent Sprague–Dawley rats were pre-exposed to nicotine then tested for cocaine self-administration (0.25 or 0.75 mg/kg), progressive ratio (PR) responding, extinction and cue-induced reinstatement in adulthood. In Experiment 1, rats showed significant dose-dependent cocaine-induced taste avoidance with cocaine-injected subjects consuming less saccharin over trials, but no effect of nicotine pre-exposure. For place preferences, cocaine induced significant place preferences with cocaine injected subjects spending significantly more time on the cocaine-paired side, but again there was no effect of nicotine history. All rats in Experiment 2 showed clear, dose-dependent responding during cocaine acquisition, PR testing, extinction and reinstatement with no effect of nicotine pre-exposure. These studies demonstrate that adolescent nicotine pre-exposure does not have an impact on cocaine's affective properties or its self-administration at least with the specific parametric conditions under which these effects were tested.
A Review of: Varshney, Ashutosh. “Ethic Conflict and Civil Life: Hindus and Muslims in India”

There is a lot to like about this book. Its attractions include a critique of current theorizing about ethnic conflict, an introduction to the rise of mass politics in India, brief histories of how...
Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP)

The nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) derives its energy from fissioning uranium-235 atoms contained within fuel elements that comprise the engine's reactor core. During operation, hydrogen (H2) propellant is pumped through coolant channels in the fuel elements where it is superheated to high temperatures and then expanded out a supersonic nozzle to generate high thrust at twice the specific impulse (Isp ∼900 s) of today's best chemical rockets. This technology is not new. Twenty rocket reactors were designed, built, and ground tested during the Rover and NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Applications) programs conducted between 1955 and 1972. These programs demonstrated: (1) a wide range of thrust; (2) high-temperature carbide-based nuclear fuel; (3) sustained engine operation; (4) accumulated lifetime; and (5) restart capability. Ceramic metal fuels were also evaluated as a backup. The NTR has a significant growth capability. Configured as a “bimodal” system, the NTR can generate spacecraft electrical power. Adding an “afterburner” nozzle for oxygen (O2) injection and supersonic combustion in the engine's hot H2 exhaust downstream of the nozzle throat can enable a variable thrust and Isp capability. For future human missions to Mars, the NTR can reduce the required launch mass by ∼400 t compared to chemical propulsion. It also has fewer mission elements, simpler space operations, and the use of clustered, lower thrust engines can help reduce development cost and overall mission risk. Keywords: nuclear thermal rocket; NTR; NERVA; nuclear fuel; human Mars missions; Mars trajectories; MTV (Mars transfer vehicle); thrust; specific impulse; expander cycle
Minimizing Average Schedule Length under Memory Constraints by Optimal Partitioning and Prefetching

Over the last 20 years, the performance gap between CPU and memory has been steadily increasing. As a result, a variety of techniques has been devised to hide that performance gap, from intermediate fast memories (caches) to various prefetching and memory management techniques for manipulating the data present in these caches. In this paper we propose a new memory management technique that takes advantage of access pattern information that is available at compile time by prefetching certain data elements before explicitly being requested by the CPU, as well as maintaining certain data in the local memory over a number of iterations. In order to better take advantage of the locality of reference present in loop structures, our technique also uses a new approach to memory by partitioning it and reducing execution to each partition, so that information is reused at much smaller time intervals than if execution followed the usual pattern. These combined approaches--using a new set of memory instructions as well as partitioning the memory--lead to improvements in total execution time of approximately 25% over existing methods.
Plastic recycling in business machines

A process was developed and implemented for the recovery and recycling of plastics from end-of-life IBM products into new IBM products. In general, the economics for this type of recycling, closed loop, has the greatest potential for achieving profitability. In addition to keeping the plastic out of the landfill, product material cost is reduced and there is no expense for plastics disposal. Factors affecting the recyclability and value of recovered plastics were identified and examined. These factors included the type and amount of plastic involved, the type and degree of contamination, the difficulty in removing contaminates, and the potential end-use application. Considerations from these studies supporting the technical and economic feasibility of establishing a plastic recovery process are discussed. >
Dissecting the cellular functions of plant microtubules using mutant tubulins

α- and β-tubulins, the building blocks of the microtubule (MT) polymer, are encoded by multiple genes that are largely functionally redundant in plants. Null tubulin mutants are thus phenotypically indistinguishable from the wild type, but miss-sense or deletion mutations of critical amino acid residues that are important for the assembly, stability, or dynamics of the polymer disrupt the proper organization and function of the resultant MT arrays. Mutant tubulins co-assemble with wild-type tubulins into mutant MTs with compromised functions, and thus mechanistically act as dominant-negative MT poisons. Cortical MT arrays in interphase plant cells are most sensitive to tubulin mutations, and are transformed into helical structures or random orientation, which produce twisted or radially swollen cells. Mutant plants resistant to MT-targeted herbicides may possess tubulin mutations at the binding sites of the herbicides. Tubulin mutants are valuable tools for investigating how individual MTs are organized into particular patterns in cortical arrays, and for defining the functional contribution of MTs to various MT-dependent or -assisted cellular processes in plant cells.
Age, body weight and body composition requirements for the onset of sexual maturity of dwarf and normal chickens

Abstract 1. Comparisons of age, food intake, body weight and body composition at the onset of sexual maturity were made between dwarf and normal chickens from lines selected for high or low juvenile body weight. 2. At the same age birds which had started to lay were significantly heavier and contained significantly more abdominal and carcass fat than those which were not laying. 3. Differences between normal and dwarf pullets within lines varied with genetic background, indicating differences between lines in meeting a body weight or a body composition requirement, or both, for the onset of sexual maturity.
Self-assembled InAs quantum dot formation on GaAs ring-like nanostructure templates

The evolution of InAs quantum dot (QD) formation is studied on GaAs ring-like nanostructures fabricated by droplet homo-epitaxy. This growth mode, exclusively performed by a hybrid approach of droplet homo-epitaxy and Stransky-Krastanor (S-K) based QD self-assembly, enables one to form new QD morphologies that may find use in optoelectronic applications. Increased deposition of InAs on the GaAs ring first produced a QD in the hole followed by QDs around the GaAs ring and on the GaAs (100) surface. This behavior indicates that the QDs prefer to nucleate at locations of high monolayer (ML) step density.
New analgesic assay utilizing trypsin-induced hyperalgesia in the hind limb of the rat.

Abstract Subplantar injection of 250 μg of trypsin in the rat resulted in a biphasic increase in pain sensitivity (hyperalgesia) with peaks at 10 and 150 min separated by a period of decreased sensitivity to pain (hypoalgesia). Hyperalgesia was assessed by a decrease in response latency to a 3.0-kg force applied to the injected hind limb. Response latencies at 150 min were increased in a dose-dependent manner by pretreatment at 90 min with acetaminophen; phenacetin; the arachidonate cyclooxygenase inhibitors aspirin, indomethacin, and ibuprofen; and the opiate analgesics codeine and morphine. ED50s of 17, 13, 10, 0.48, 1.6, 3.9 and 1.2 mg kg p.o. were obtained for these drugs, respectively. The hyperalgesia present at 150 min was not affected by pretreatment with antiinflammatory steroids, an antihistaminic, an antiserotonin agent, and an anticholinergic. We recommend measurement of drug-induced increase in response latencies produced 150 min after injection of 250 μg of trypsin as the basis for a new sensitive and selective analgesic assay. ED50s obtained in this assay correlate well with doses that are used clinically to produce analgesia. Development of the hypoalgesic component was selectively inhibited by pretreatment with an antiserotonin agent. Additional drug studies indicated that the algesic response to the subplantar injection of trypsin is the resultant of independent, temporally overlapping hyperalgesic and hypoalgesic components.
The coarse structure of the solar atmosphere

Observations of the quiet sun at wavelengths from 3 A to 75 cm show (with two exceptions: the Ovi line at 1032 A and possibly the continuum at 1.2 mm) either no limb brightening or less than had been supposed. On the other hand, the brightness temperature is observed to increase with wavelength in the millimeter and centimeter range. If this increase is due to greater visibility of hot overlying material, that material ought to be evident at the limb at shorter wavelengths, resulting in limb brightening. The only possible explanation for the absence of limb brightening at almost all wavelengths is that the emitting surface is rough at all wavelengths, with a scale of roughness approximately equal to the scale height at each temperature. Contradictions with existing models, along with the additional observations required for an improved model are discussed.
Difference in the Cyclic Adenosine 3′,5′-Monophosphate Levels in Normal and Transformed Cells

CYCLIC 3′5′-adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP) regulates many physiological phenomena1,2. Cellular morphology changes when the dibutyryl derivative of cyclic AMP is added in vitro to the nutrient media of cultured mammalian cells3–6. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP has also been shown to restore controlled growth to transformed cells3, change the cell's surface architecture3,7 and induce axon formation8 with an accompanied increase in acetylcholinesterase activity9 in neuroblastoma cells growing in culture. These effects suggest that the cyclic AMP moiety may have some basic regulatory action on cell growth and cell specialization.
A new design for porcelain-fused-to-metal prostheses

Abstract Two of the main disadvantages of posterior porcelain-fused-to-metal prosthesis are gingival impingement due to the location of the solder joints, and porcelain fracture. The standard design of copings has been modified to provide high proximal connecting struts which permit the placement of the solder joints at the occlusal surface. Rigid lingual shoulders of the copings add to the rigidity of the metal substructure which effectively eliminates the hazard of porcelain fracture or crazing. A step-by-step procedure was described which facilitates the clinical application of the new coping design.
Selected morphological characteristics and infestivity of Psoroptes ovis reared on rabbits (Acarina: Psoroptidae)

ABSTRACT Psoroptes ovis (Hering) originally obtained from cattle were reared in the ears of domestic rabbits for 2.8 years. The P. ovis mites thrived on the rabbits and exhibited no morphological change as measured by adult male I4 setal lengths, body length, or width, or adult female body length or width during this test period; nor did they resemble P. cuniculi (Delafond) from rabbits. The P. ovis reared on rabbits remained infestive to cattle during the test period.
Cerebrospinal fluid corticotropin-releasing hormone levels are elevated in monkeys with patterns of brain activity associated with fearful temperament

Abstract Background: Asymmetric patterns of frontal brain activity and brain corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) systems have both been separately implicated in the processing of normal and abnormal emotional responses. Previous studies in rhesus monkeys demonstrated that individuals with extreme right frontal asymmetric brain electrical activity have high levels of trait-like fearful behavior and increased plasma cortisol concentrations. Methods: In this study we assessed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CRH concentrations in monkeys with extreme left and extreme right frontal brain electrical activity. CSF was repeatedly collected at 4, 8, 14, 40, and 52 months of age. Results: Monkeys with extreme right frontal brain activity had increased CSF CRH concentrations at all ages measured. In addition, individual differences in CSF CRH concentrations were stable from 4 to 52 months of age. Conclusions: These findings suggest that, in primates, the fearful endophenotype is characterized by increased fearful behavior, a specific pattern of frontal electrical activity, increased pituitary–adrenal activity, and increased activity of brain CRH systems. Data from other preclinical studies suggests that the increased brain CRH activity may underlie the behavioral and physiological characteristics of fearful endophenotype.