cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 4327: Dietary tomato reduces castration-resistant prostate cancer progression in TRAMP mice

Epidemiological data support the hypothesis that consumption of diets rich in tomato products are associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer. Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) represents the late and lethal phase of human prostate carcinogenesis, and is defined as cancer progression after surgical castration or pharmacologic reduction of serum testosterone through androgen deprivation therapy. Mechanisms involved in the transition to CRPC include cancer cells’ acquired capacity for androgen synthesis or activation of ligand-independent signaling. We have previously shown that dietary tomato can inhibit prostatic androgen signaling and expression of androgen biosynthetic genes, as well as reduce primary cancer incidence in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) model. Therefore, we examined whether dietary tomato might be an effective inhibitor of CRPC progression in mice. We hypothesized that lifelong dietary intake of tomato, as well as dietary tomato intervention following castration, would reduce tumor burden and growth rate in a mouse model of CRPC. TRAMP mice were fed an AIN-93G diet (CON) for one week and then randomized to the CON diet (n = 28) or a similar diet with 10% w/w lyophilized tomato paste (TP; n = 27) from 4 wks of age until euthanization. A third group, modeling dietary intervention, consumed CON from 4 to 12 wks of age, and the 10% w/w lyophilized tomato paste diet from wk 12 until euthanization (TP-I; n = 25). All animals were castrated at 12 wks of age. Beginning at 10 wks of age, mice were monitored longitudinally with ultrasound for tumor detection, tumor volume estimation, and calculation of tumor growth rate. Serial 2D image slices were used to generate a 3D volume estimate. Mice were euthanized after 5 consecutive tumor scans, or if no tumor had been detected by 30 weeks of age. Tumor growth area under the curve (AUC) was reduced approximately 46% by tomato intervention (TP-I) and 27% by lifelong tomato consumption (TP). At euthanization, TP-I reduced tumor weight by approximately 26%. Additionally, incidence of gross metastases to distant organs (lung, liver, kidney) was strongly inhibited by TP-I, compared to CON (0% and 26%, respectively). TP diet reduced incidence of distant organ gross metastasis to Citation Format: Joshua W. Smith, Joe L. Rowles, Rita J. Miller, Steven K. Clinton, William D. O’Brien, John W. Erdman. Dietary tomato reduces castration-resistant prostate cancer progression in TRAMP mice. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4327.
Effects of NMDA receptor antagonists on probability discounting depend on the order of probability presentation.

Abstract Risky decision making can be measured using a probability-discounting procedure, in which animals choose between a small, certain reinforcer and a large, uncertain reinforcer. Recent evidence has identified glutamate as a mediator of risky decision making, as blocking the N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptor with MK-801 increases preference for a large, uncertain reinforcer. Because the order in which probabilities associated with the large reinforcer can modulate the effects of drugs on choice, the current study determined if NMDA receptor ligands alter probability discounting using ascending and descending schedules. Sixteen rats were trained in a probability-discounting procedure in which the odds against obtaining the large reinforcer increased (n = 8) or decreased (n = 8) across blocks of trials. Following behavioral training, rats received treatments of the NMDA receptor ligands MK-801 (uncompetitive antagonist; 0, 0.003, 0.01, or 0.03 mg/kg), ketamine (uncompetitive antagonist; 0, 1.0, 5.0, or 10.0 mg/kg), and ifenprodil (NR2B-selective non-competitive antagonist; 0, 1.0, 3.0, or 10.0 mg/kg). Results showed discounting was steeper (indicating increased risk aversion) for rats on an ascending schedule relative to rats on the descending schedule. Furthermore, the effects of MK-801, ketamine, and ifenprodil on discounting were dependent on the schedule used. Specifically, the highest dose of each drug decreased risk taking in rats in the descending schedule, but only MK-801 (0.03 mg/kg) increased risk taking in rats on an ascending schedule. These results show that probability presentation order modulates the effects of NMDA receptor ligands on risky decision making.
Open Reduction Internal Fixation of Posterior Malleolus Fractures and Iatrogenic Injuries: A Cadaveric Study.

Open reduction internal fixation of posterior malleolus fractures from a posterior approach is gaining popularity. One concern that has not been studied is the risk of iatrogenic injury to anatomical structures on the anterior ankle. The purpose of this study is to determine the proximity of these anterior structures with relation to K-wires advanced through the anterior cortex. A total of 10 cadaver ankles were utilized in the study. A posterolateral approach to the ankle was used. K-wires were advanced at varying levels above the articular surface, and then, the proximity of the wires to the following structures was determined: the neurovascular bundle, tibialis anterior (TA), and extensor hallucis longus. Overall, the structure most in danger of being injured was the TA (P < .001). This tendon was injured by 52% of all K-wires. These data suggest that K-wires should be advanced under direct fluoroscopic visualization to minimize the risk of iatrogenic injury.Levels of Evidence: Level IV
“Can't Live without You:” Essential Animal-Bacterial Relationships: The resident bacteria that animals require contribute metabolic capabilities and signaling networks that shape host health

For billions of years, the bacteria (Eubacteria and Archea) had this planet to themselves. This exclusivity changed with the origin of the eukaryotes, little more than 1 billion years ago. In one of the greatest turning points in the history of life, eukaryotic cellular organization permitted greater biological complexity than has evolved in bacteria—at every level from the individual cell to multicellular organisms with divisions of labor and social interactions among organisms. Although the diversity of both eukaryotes and bacteria is predominantly at the unicellular level, only the eukaryotes include large radiations of organisms that interact with the environment at spatial scales of 1 cm or more.
iCHAMPSS: Usability and Psychosocial Impact for Increasing Implementation of Sexual Health Education

Introduction. Diffusion of sexual health evidence-based programs (EBPs) in schools is a complex and challenging process. iCHAMPSS (CHoosing And Maintaining effective Programs for Sex education in Schools) is an innovative theory- and Web-based decision support system that may help facilitate this process. The purpose of this study was to pilot-test iCHAMPSS for usability and short-term psychosocial impact. Method. School district stakeholders from across Texas were recruited (N = 16) and given access to iCHAMPSS for 3 weeks in fall 2014. Pre- and posttests were administered to measure usability parameters and short-term psychosocial outcomes. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results. Most participants reported that iCHAMPSS was easy to use, credible, helpful, and of sufficient motivational appeal. iCHAMPSS significantly increased participants’ self-efficacy to obtain approval from their board of trustees to implement a sexual health EBP. Positive, though n...
Targeting the Leukemia Initiating Cells in a Mouse T-ALL Model.

Abstract Abstract 3474 Poster Board III-411 T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy that is largely caused by aberrant activation of the TAL1/SCL, LMO1/2 and NOTCH1 oncogenic pathways. Although most patients respond to cytotoxic therapy, 20-30% relapse and currently we cannot distinguish children likely to relapse from those who will respond to therapy. Evidence is emerging that some malignancies are driven by a rare initiating population that is capable of extensive self-renewal and is resistant to conventional chemotherapy. Although the leukemia-initiating cells (L-ICs) have been well documented in AML and CML, it is unclear whether T-ALL is driven by a rare L-IC and whether relapse reflects an inability to eliminate L-ICs. To determine whether T-ALL is driven by a rare L-IC, we utilized a murine model of T-ALL in which expression of the Tal1 and Lmo2 oncogenes arrests thymocyte development via E47/HEB inhibition and 75% of tumors develop spontaneous gain of function mutations in Notch1. We have shown that treatment with γ-secretase inhibitors (GSIs) to inhibit Notch1 activity induces apoptosis of mouse T-ALL cells in vitro and when administered in vivo extends the survival of leukemic mice. We demonstrate that clonal mouse T-ALL tumors are phenotypically heterogeneous, containing immature CD4- and CD8-negative, double negative (DN) 3 and 4 thymic progenitors and differentiated double positive (DP) and/or single positive (SP) leukemic blasts. Importantly, the DN3 or DN4 progenitors are maintained upon serial transplantation of the tumor into syngeneic recipient mice. Injection of serial dilutions of murine T-ALL cells reveal that the tumors are also functionally heterogeneous; with 1/5000-1/50,000 tumor cells exhibiting leukemia initiating activity. We found the CD44-, CD25+ DN3 progenitors enriched in disease potential, whereas mice injected with DP leukemic blasts failed to develop leukemia. Consistently, our preleukemic studies reveal a 3.5-fold increase in the percentage of Notch1 active, DN3/4 thymic progenitors, raising the possibility that Notch1 drives L-IC growth. Collectively, these studies suggest that activation of the Notch1-c-Myc pathway may confer self-renewal capabilities on committed thymic progenitors. The effects of Notch inhibitors on mouse L-IC survival and activity will be discussed. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Expressive Ends: Understanding Conversion Therapy Bans

LGBT rights groups have recently made bans on conversion therapy, a practice intended to reduce or eliminate a person’s same-sex sexual attractions, a primary piece of their legislative agenda. However, the statutes only apply to licensed mental health professionals, even though most conversion therapy is practiced by religious counselors and lay ministers. Conversion therapy bans thus present a striking legal question: Why have LGBT rights advocates expended so much effort and political capital on laws that do not reach conversion therapy’s primary providers? Based on archival research and original interviews, this Article reveals that the true significance of the bans is in their expressive function. The laws’ proponents are using the laws to create a social norm against conversion therapy writ large, thus broadening the bans’ reach to the religious practitioners the law cannot directly regulate. LGBT rights groups are also extending the laws’ expressive message to support the argument that sexual orientation is immutable and to reverse a historical narrative that cast gays and lesbians as dangerous to children. These related claims have been central to gay rights efforts for much of the twentieth century and continue to shape LGBT rights battles. While the expressive effects of the bans are important, the laws and the campaign around them may have a negative effect. LGBT rights organizations working on the laws do not distinguish between conversion therapy efforts aimed at changing sexual orientation and those targeting behavior. This is troubling, not only because it fails to acknowledge the needs of same-sex attracted individuals who wish to live in accordance with their religious beliefs, but also because it reinforces a limited view of gay identity. Many within the LGBT movement contest the identity model that legal advocates have championed, and that conception of sexual orientation may in fact hinder the movement’s long-term goals. Differentiating between the various types of conversion therapy would emphasize the law’s need to respect and protect sexual decisions and expressions, as well as create a platform from which to promote a more expansive vision of LGBT rights.
Incorporating Task Analysis in the Design of a Tool for a Complex and Exploratory Search Task

Due to its nature, a complex and exploratory search task is not directly actionable; it needs to be decomposed into actionable sub-tasks. Achieving this decomposition is usually not trivial for non-expert users. Also, the users need additional support to decrease their cognitive workload, regardless of their experience level. A tool designed for a specific task should handle the above issues. In this paper, we present a design approach that can help achieve this, and exemplify this approach using the search task of patent infringement discovery. We apply hierarchical task analysis to analyze a successful goal decomposition scenario for the task. This kind of decomposition makes explicit the tasks that are most responsible for the cognitive workload of the user. We then apply cognitive analysis to reveal the knowledge that enables such decomposition. Finally, we use these findings to design the tool in a way that reduces the load on the user and enables achieving decomposition for non-expert users.
Natriuretic peptide C receptor in the developing sheep lung: role in perinatal transition.

At birth, the release of surfactant from alveolar type II cells (ATIIs) is stimulated by increased activity of the beta-adrenergic/adenylyl cyclase/cyclic 3′-5′ adenosine monophosphate-signaling cascade. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) stimulates surfactant secretion through natriuretic peptide receptor A (NPR-A). ANP inhibits adenylyl cyclase activity through its binding to NPR-C. We wished to further understand the role of the NPR-C in perinatal transition. We studied ATII expression of NPR-C in fetal and newborn sheep using immunohistochemistry, and surfactant secretion in isolated ATIIs by measuring 3[H] choline release into the media. ANP induced surfactant secretion, and, at higher doses, it inhibits the stimulatory effect of the secretagogue terbutaline. ATII NPR-C expression decreased significantly after birth. Premature delivery also markedly decreased ANP and NPR-C in ATIIs. Co-incubation of terbutaline (10−4 M) with ANP (10−6 M) significantly decreased 3[H] choline release from isolated newborn ATII cells when compared with terbutaline alone; this inhibitory effect was mimicked by the specific NPR-C agonist, C-ANP (10−10 M). ANP may act as an important epithelial-derived inhibitor of surfactant release in the fetal lung, and downregulation of ANP and NPR-C following birth may sensitize ATII cells to the effects of circulating catecholamines, thus facilitating surfactant secretion.
The Impact of Student-Centered Learning on NCLEX-RN® Success

In the complex and ever-evolving field of nursing, contemporary nurses must be capable of making customized decisions in rapidly changing situations. In order for nurses to be effective and to provide high quality, safe care, they must be able to utilize clinical reasoning to discern the importance of ongoing changes in patient status, (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010). Traditional teaching methods may not be appropriate to adequately prepare registered nurses for the level of clinical reasoning skill needed in today’s complex health care environment. The National Council Licensure Examination – Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN®) indirectly measures clinical reasoning skills. This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project retrospectively analyzed NCLEX-RN® success rates, before and after the intervention of student-centered learning was employed in the associate degree nursing program. Student-centered learning is a strategy in which the faculty serves as a facilitator, and the students are actively engaged in learning through various activities (Weimar, 2013). Student-centered strategies result in deeper learning (Carrick, 2011). This deeper learning is important for the development of appropriate clinical reasoning skills. Chi-square analysis was performed to compare the distribution of differences between the data. This project adds to the body of knowledge related to effective teaching/ learning strategies for prelicensure registered nursing students.
Apoptosis in MHV-induced demyelination

Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) induced encephalitis, hepatitis and chronic demyelinating disease involves inflammatory and parenchymal cell death. TUNEL assays and electron microscopy reveal that brain parenchymal cells such as neurons, astrocytes, microglia/macrophages and oligodendrocytes are undergoing apoptosis during acute and chronic infection with a neurotropic strain MHV-A59. Although apoptosis is a normal phenomenon in helping the turnover of inflammatory cells, apoptosis of brain parenchymal cells may have significant implications for the pathogenesis of viral-induced demyelination.
Concerns About False Apprehensions

A primary issue that pertains to all epiphanic experiences, and scriptural and other reports of epiphanic experience, is the issue of veridicality, or genuineness. This chapter deals with that issue whether epiphanic apprehensions are veridical or false, whether they are genuinely of or from the divine or not. This relates to visions but also to other religious apprehensions, including locutions (or auditory apprehensions) and prophetic revelations. We observe how a concern with false prophets is expressed in the Torah and the prophetic books of the Tanakh, and present the concerns of St. Teresa of Avila and others in the modern period about the veridicality of received visions, locutions, and raptures, noting the form of those concerns. Furthermore, we consider the traditional criteria for genuine epiphanic apprehensions, accepted by more than one religious tradition, and attend to the underlying concern of St. Teresa, and others sharing her religious sensibility, with the motives of those seeking visions and other apprehensions.
IDENTIFYING THE TICKS OF BIVALVE SHELL CLOCKS: SEASONAL GROWTH IN RELATION TO TEMPERATURE AND FOOD SUPPLY

Sclerochronology uses shell growth lines or bands for the construction of environmental time-series and the measurement of organism growth, but more study is needed to constrain the triggers of the dark cessation bands observed in many bivalve groups. We constructed a database of direct observations of modern growth seasonality across the class Bivalvia and compared the occurrence of seasonal growth bands to environmental data including latitude, temperature, and chlorophyll-a concentration. Bivalves with cold-season (winter) cessations are more common towards the poles, with logistic regression showing that temperature, followed by latitude of occurrence, displays the strongest relationship with occurrence of winter cessation. Remotely sensed and directly measured chlorophyll-a concentration show no significant relationship. Summer cessations are sparse and only weakly associated with environmental controls but are concentrated at the subtropical latitudes among temperate bivalves at their equatorial extremes. The rarity of summer cessations can be explained by the limited annual ranges of temperature in the tropics, combined with the exponential relationship of metabolic rate to temperature leading to a narrow window between normal functioning and mortality at high temperatures. This data suggests that, unless annual temperatures have low variability like in equatorial or polar regions, the season of growth cessation across bivalves is primarily a function of temperature tolerance through restriction of scope for growth. At most latitudes, growth bands can be interpreted as being primarily triggered by temperature stress, rather than seasonal starvation.
Innovation and Selection in Prehistory

In the American midcontinent, first millenium A.D. point types show a single continuum of metric variation, not a time-series of distinct forms. This view changes our understanding of the technological transition from dart to arrow, which may have begun earlier and unfolded over a longer time than commonly believed, and involved for some time simultaneous use of both weapon types. Reduction in point size may have persisted even after the arrow was adopted, possibly in response to broader subsistence changes. The Diet Breadth model suggests one explanation for the continuous decline in arrow-point size. Whatever its cause, this time-dependent trend can improve our ability to measure time as the continuum it is.
Defining the Gray Zone: Client Billing and Contractual Joint Ventures

Client billing is a practice in which the referring clinician pays the dermatopathology laboratory a fixed amount for both the technical and professional fees to prepare and interpret the biopsy, and then the clinician bills the Please provide affiliation details for all authors.patient or insurer. Although not inherently illegal or unethical, the practice becomes ethically suspect when a clinician takes advantage of client billing to secure personal profit, or fails to act in the patient’s best interest by not selecting the highest quality laboratory to interpret the patient’s biopsies. Contractual joint ventures are practice models which allow groups of clinicians to bill for work done by independently contracted (‘pod” model) or employed pathologists (“vertically integrated” model), practices that otherwise would not be permitted under Medicare reassignment rules. This chapter presents ethical arguments for and against these practices using illustrative case scenarios.
Is American Student Behavior Getting Worse?: Teacher Ratings over an 18-Year Period

Scores for academic performance, adaptive functioning, DSM-oriented scales, and empirically based scales on the Teacher's Report Form (TRF) were compared for demographically similar samples of 7-to...
Country-of-Origin-Strategien in der Markenführung

Gerade in Zeiten der Globalisierung ist die Herkunft von Produkten und Marken fur den Konsumenten ein wichtiger Anker fur seine Urteilsfindung. Auf Basis internationaler Forschung sowie der bahnbrechenden Arbeiten von Gunter Schweiger zeigt der Beitrag auf, unter welchen Voraussetzungen ein Herkunftsbezug vorteilhaft fur Produkte und Marken ist, wie die Herkunft zur Differenzierung von Produkten und Marken beitragt und wie der Herkunftsbezug in der Markenpositionierung hergestellt werden kann. Der Beitrag schliest mit einer Analyse der Starken und Schwachen der internationalen Images von Deutschland, Osterreich und der Schweiz.
Analyses of orientational superlattice domains in epitaxial ZnTe thin films grown on graphene and mica

ZnTe has a favorable band alignment with CdTe and is an ideal buffer between CdTe and metal contacts used in photovoltaics. Using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, we report epitaxial growth of ZnTe thin films on 2D substrates, namely, single crystal graphene on amorphous SiO2/Si and freshly cleaved mica(001). Despite the large in-plane lattice mismatches between ZnTe and graphene (∼75%) and between ZnTe and mica(001) (∼17%), X-ray pole figure analyses show preferred epitaxial alignments with the out-of-plane orientation along [111] for ZnTe films on both substrates. For ZnTe on graphene, besides the primary in-plane orientation of [ 1 ¯ 10 ] ZnTe / / [ 1 1 ¯ ] graphene, two secondary in-plane orientations rotating ±25.28° away from the primary domain are found. A geometrical superlattice area mismatch (GSAM) model is implemented to explain the existence of the primary and secondary domains in ZnTe on graphene. For ZnTe on mica(001), only one in-plane orientational domain is found experimentally with the epitaxial relationship of [ 1 ¯ 10 ] ZnTe / / [ 100 ] mica (or [ 1 ¯ 10 ] ZnTe / / [ 2 1 ¯ 1 ¯ 0 ] mica if four-index notation is used for mica). However, the prediction of domain orientation between ZnTe and mica(001) based on the GSAM model slightly deviates from that observed experimentally. Furthermore, it should be noted that multiple order twinning domains of the primary domain are observed in both ZnTe films. While coexisting with the primary domain, each of the twinning domains is still epitaxially aligned with respect to the substrate. The in-depth understanding of ZnTe's epitaxial behaviors on graphene and mica(001) provides a valuable guidance for future studies on epitaxy of 3D zinc-blende overlayers on 2D hexagonal substrates.
BENCHMARKING THE ELDERCARE WORKFORCE: A COMMUNITY FOCUS

The overall purpose of this study is to provide an initial, alpha-version, benchmark of the workforce within geographic communities to use for generating illuminating comparisons with their own workforce estimates. This provides a tool for consideration, and users’ feedback will improve the tool. In essence, we are creating the start of a learning system for optimizing the workforce in a geographic community. A literature review, combined with subject matter interviews, and an alpha-level estimate of available data were conducted to produce a workforce supply estimate for 1000 frail or disabled older adults living in a community roughly the size of Washington D.C. Projection estimates for home health aides (HHA), personal care aides (PCA), home care nurses, and physicians (including nurse practitioners, and physician assistants) show that for every 1000 frail and disabled elderly living at home, the community needs about 1,334 HHA, 1,083 PCA, 7 nurses, and 2.5 physicians. Measuring the local workforce capacity helps engaged community leaders to understand their whole eldercare production system and its performance, even though their “system” may be owned and operated by many different entities and is not usually well coordinated. This project aims to be a starting point for communities to start estimating the effects of various strategies to improve eldercare and envisions having a coalition or trust that has authority to monitor and manage the system.
Auditing Standards, Professional Judgment, and Audit Quality

ABSTRACT We propose a model to study how auditing standards affect audit quality. We posit that both auditors' incentives and expertise are relevant for audit effectiveness. Auditing standards are ...
Outcome Measures of Free-Living Activity in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation.

The purpose of this article was to describe the utilization of body-worn activity monitors in the spinal cord injury (SCI) population and discuss the challenges of using body-worn sensors in rehabilitation research. Many activity monitor-based measures have been used and validated in the SCI population including stroke number, push frequency, upper limb activity counts, and wheelchair propulsion distance measured from a sensor attached to the wheelchair. The ability to accurately measure physical activity in the free-living environment using body-worn sensors has the potential to enhance the understanding of barriers to adequate activity and identify possible effective interventions. As the use of activity monitors used in SCI rehabilitation research continues to grow, care must be taken to overcome challenges related to participant adherence and data quality.
Effect of penitence on social media trust and privacy concerns: The case of Facebook

Abstract Abuse of information entrusted to organizations can result in a variety of privacy violations and trust concerns for consumers. In the event of violations, a social media brand or organization renders an apology – a form of social account – to alleviate users’ concerns and maintain user membership and engagement with the platform. To explore the link between apology offered by a social media brand or organization and the users’ trust dynamics in the brand’s services, we study how organizational integrity can contribute to reducing individuals’ privacy concerns whiles increasing or repairing their trust. Drawing on organizational behavioral integrity literature, our proposed research model suggests that the persuasiveness of an apology following a data breach affects users’ trust or spillover trust through their perceptions of the degree of alignment between the words in the apology and the actions of the violating entity. Based on a survey of Facebook users, our findings show that persuasiveness of an apology has a significant impact on users’ perceptions of the alignment between the social media brand’s (i.e. Facebook) words and subsequent actions. These perceptions impact social media brand trust (i.e. users’ trust in Facebook and allied services such as Instagram). We also find that, post data breach incidence, while integrity of the social media organization partially mediates the relationship between persuasive apology and users’ trust, it fully mediates the relationship between the persuasive apology and the privacy concerns expressed by the users. However, users’ privacy concerns do not contribute much to the repair of trust needed to maintain their membership.
Automatic segment filtering procedure for processing non-stationary signals.

Abstract Computing time derivatives is a frequent stage in the processing of biomechanical data. Unfortunately, differentiation amplifies the high frequency noise inherent within the signal hampering the accuracy of signal derivatives. A low-pass Butterworth filter is commonly used to reduce the sampled signal noise prior to differentiation. One hurdle lies in selecting an appropriate filter cut-off frequency which retains the signal of interest while reducing deleterious noise. Most biomechanics data processing approaches utilize the same cut-off frequency for the whole sampled signal, but the frequency components of a signal can vary with time. To accommodate such signals, the Automatic Segment Filtering Procedure (ASFP) is proposed which uses different automatically determined Butterworth filter cut-off frequencies for separate segments of a sampled signal. The Teager-Kaiser Energy Operator of the signal is computed and used to determine segments of the signal with different energy content. The Autocorrelation-Based Procedure (ABP) is used on each of these segments to determine filter cut-off frequencies. This new procedure was evaluated by estimating acceleration values from the test data set of Dowling (1985). The ASFP produced a root mean square error (RMSE) of 16.4 rad s−2 (26.6%) whereas a single ABP determined filter cut-off frequency applied to the whole Dowling (1985) signal, representing the common approach, produced a RMSE of 25.5 rad s−2 (41.4%). As a point of comparison, a Generalized Cross-Validated Quintic Spline, a common non-Butterworth filter, produced a RMSE of 23.6 rad s−2 (38.4%). This new automatic approach is advantageous in biomechanics for preserving high frequency content of non-stationary signals.
Aging- and creep-resistance of a cast hypoeutectic Al-6.9Ce-9.3Mg (wt.%) alloy

Abstract A ternary Al-6.9Ce-9.3Mg (wt.%) hypoeutectic alloy, consisting of equal amounts of α-Al(Mg) solid-solution regions and Al(Mg)-Al11Ce3 eutectic colonies, is investigated in terms of its aging and creep resistance. The eutectic regions exhibit a microhardness of 1230 MPa, which is thrice the value of Al-Al11Ce3 eutectic regions in a binary Al-12.5Ce (wt.%) near-eutectic alloy, demonstrating that Mg in solid-solution enhances the strengthening provided by the micron-scale highly-branched Al11Ce3 phase. X-ray diffraction measurements during ambient-temperature tensile testing reveal that load is being transferred from the Al(Mg) matrix to the Al11Ce3 phase, confirming that the fine eutectic microstructure displays composite strengthening in addition to the expected precipitation- and solid-solution strengthening. The hardness remains effectively unchanged after aging at 450 °C for up to 8 weeks, indicating excellent coarsening resistance of the Al11Ce3 phase. The ternary alloy exhibits creep resistance at 300 °C slightly inferior to the near-fully eutectic binary Al-12.5Ce (wt.%) alloy, consistent with the presence of large regions of fast-creeping primary Al(Mg) solid-solution matrix between the strong Al(Mg)-Al11Ce3 eutectic colonies in the hypoeutectic ternary alloy.
A Meta-Analysis Assessing Additional LDL-C Reduction from Addition of a Bile Acid Sequestrant to Statin Therapy.

Abstract Background Statins are the first-line therapy for reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). However, there are secondary prevention patients who are either intolerant to maximal statin therapy or do not get adequate effects from a high-intensity statin. While data exist for the additional LDL-C-lowering effects of ezetimibe, there are no data on additional LDL-C lowering of bile acid sequestrants when combined with statin therapy. The purpose of this study was to quantify the LDL-C-lowering effects of bile acid sequestrants when added to statin therapy. Methods Databases (Medline via PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) were searched for randomized controlled trials comparing statin therapy to statin therapy with the addition of bile acid sequestrants. Nine studies were included in the meta-analysis. A meta-regression was performed to estimate the mean difference in LDL-C between the 2 groups. Results Without controlling for other variables, data suggest that combining statin with bile acid sequestrant increases the percentage change in LDL-C by 16.2 points, on average, compared with statin use alone. Conclusion In patients unable to tolerate an adequate statin dosage, bile acid sequestrants offer a viable alternative with additional LDL-C-lowering benefit.
Mendelian diseases of dysregulated canonical NF-κB signaling: From immunodeficiency to inflammation

NF-κB is a master transcription factor that activates the expression of target genes in response to various stimulatory signals. Activated NF-κB mediates a plethora of diverse functions including innate and adaptive immune responses, inflammation, cell proliferation, and NF-κB is regulated through interactions with IκB inhibitory proteins, which are in turn regulated by the inhibitor of κB kinase (IKK) complex. Together, these 3 components form the core of the NF-κB signalosomes that have cell-specific functions which are dependent on the interactions with other signaling molecules and pathways. The activity of NF-κB pathway is also regulated by a variety of post-translational modifications including phosphorylation and ubiquitination by Lys63, Met1, and Lys48 ubiquitin chains. The physiologic role of NF-κB is best studied in the immune system due to discovery of many human diseases caused by pathogenic variants in various proteins that constitute the NF-κB pathway. These disease-causing variants can act either as gain-of-function (GoF) or loss-of-function (LoF) and depending on the function of mutated protein, can cause either immunodeficiency or systemic inflammation. Typically, pathogenic missense variants act as GoF and they lead to increased activity in the pathway. LoF variants can be inherited as recessive or dominant alleles and can cause either a decrease or an increase in pathway activity. Dominantly inherited LoF variants often result in haploinsufficiency of inhibitory proteins. Here, we review human Mendelian immunologic diseases, which results from mutations in different molecules in the canonical NF-κB pathway and surprisingly present with a continuum of clinical features including immunodeficiency, atopy, autoimmunity, and autoinflammation.
Comparison of 100 U With 200 U of Intradetrusor OnabotulinumToxinA for Nonneurogenic Urgency Incontinence.

Objectives The objective of this study was to compare efficacy and adverse events between 100 U and 200 U of onabotulinumtoxinA for 6 months in women with nonneurogenic urgency incontinence. Methods This is a secondary analysis of 2 multicenter randomized controlled trials assessing efficacy of onabotulinumtoxinA in women with nonneurogenic urgency incontinence; one compared 100 U to anticholinergics and the other 200 U to sacral neuromodulation. Of 307 women who received onabotulinumtoxinA injections, 118 received 100 U, and 189 received 200 U. The primary outcome was mean adjusted change in daily urgency incontinence episodes from baseline over 6 months, measured on monthly bladder diaries. Secondary outcomes included perceived improvement, quality of life, and adverse events. The primary outcome was assessed via a multivariate linear mixed model. Results Women receiving 200 U had a lower mean reduction in urgency incontinence episodes by 6 months compared with 100 U (-3.65 vs -4.28 episodes per day; mean difference, 0.63 episodes per day [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.05-1.20]). Women receiving 200 U had lower perceptions of improvement (adjusted odds ratio, 0.32 [95% CI, 0.14-0.75]) and smaller improvement in severity score (adjusted mean difference, 12.0 [95% CI, 5.63-18.37]). Upon subanalysis of only women who were treated with prior anticholinergic medications, these differences between onabotulinumtoxinA doses were no longer statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference in adverse events in women receiving 200 U (catheterization, 32% vs 23%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.4 [95% CI, 0.8-2.4]; urinary tract infection, 37% vs 27%; adjusted odds ratio, 1.5 [95% CI, 0.9-2.6]). Conclusions A higher dose of onabotulinumtoxinA may not directly result in improved outcomes, but rather baseline disease severity may be a more important prediction of outcomes.
Continue Moving Forward on the Affordable Care Act Path

For more than 30 years, Stuart Butler has been one of a small band of market-oriented health policy analysts advocating for a universal health care system in the United States Butler's enduring vision, a coherent program grounded in health economics, calls for replacement of the current tax exclusion for employersponsored insurance premium payments with a sliding-scale tax credit;a marketplace of competing private insurers selling plans covering a federally prescribed basic set of benefits;and a mandate requiring all individuals to purchase health insurance 1,2 It has been strikingly influential;many of its core elements are-or were-reflected in features of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Incremental steps- increasing the generosity of subsidies in the marketplaces, offering marketplace coverage to a larger share of those with costly employer-based coverage, and promoting expansion of Medicaid in the 12 states that have not yet done so, all of which are components of the Biden health plan-would go a long way toward addressing these immediate concerns 4 Fundamentally, however, these problems stem from the fact that US health care costs are excessive, and a growing consensus finds they are excessive because prices in our health care system are excessive 5 Liberal health policy analysts suggest that some form of direct government intervention in pricing is needed-either in the form of establishing backstop prices, as the Medicare fee-for-service program does for Medicare Advantage;through direct regulation or negotiation, as in other countries with market-based systems;or through public health insurance programs
Cities and Regions in Crisis: The Political Economy of Sub-National Economic Development: By Martin Jones Cheltenham, UK: Edward Edgar, 2019.

In the present moment, it is difficult to overstate the importance of functional governments. Increasingly, that means local and regional governments with the operational capacity to respond to bot...
Subcellular binding and effects on calcium homeostasis produced by acetaminophen and a nonhepatotoxic regioisomer, 3'-hydroxyacetanilide, in mouse liver

Acetaminophen (250 mg/kg) administered intraperitoneally to fasted, phenobarbital-induced mice produced hepatotoxicity. No hepatotoxicity was observed after the administration of the regioisomer 3′-hydroxyacetanilide (600 mg/kg). Similar levels of covalent binding to liver homogenates occurred in mice receiving either acetaminophen or 3′-hydroxyacetanilide at these doses. However, subcellular fractionation techniques revealed that the acetaminophen treatment produced greater levels of covalent binding to mitochondrial proteins than 3′-hydroxyacetanilide. In addition, acetaminophen depleted mitochondrial glutathione levels more extensively than 3′-hydroxyacetanilide. Plasma membrane calcium-ATPase activity was reduced to 79.8% and 55.7% of control values at 1 h and 6 h, respectively, following the administration of acetaminophen. No inhibition of this enzyme was detected in mice receiving 3′-hydroxyacetanilide. Acetaminophen also induced alterations in mitochondrial calcium levels and decreased the ability of isolated mitochondria to sequester calcium. These effects were not produced by 3′-hydroxyacetanilide. Our results indicate that acetaminophen induces alterations in calcium homeostasis while 3′-hydroxyacetanilide does not.
NTOS in the Competitive Athlete

Arterial complications of thoracic outlet syndrome are secondary to repetitive compressive trauma to the subclavian artery. ATOS is typically associated with anomalous bony structures such as a cervical rib, anomalous first rib, or callous and angulation of the clavicle due to previous fracture. Fibrocartilaginous bands may also cause arterial compression. Arterial manifestations that develop secondary to post traumatic subclavian arterial pathology in the athlete are also most commonly seen in those competitive individuals possessing underlying bony abnormalities in the outlet. However, awareness and recognition of potential arterial abnormalities other than the subclavian artery is paramount in the thorough evaluation and appropriate treatment of arterial manifestations in the high performance athlete.
A volunteer citizen-servant pilot program using tailored messages to empower Alabamians to live healthier lives

Objectives: This study examines the use of tailored messages as a learning tool to volunteer citizen servants to promote health and empower Alabama citizens to live healthier lives. Design and Sample: Descriptive data of formative and summative questionnaires were analyzed from convenience sampling in this study, which encompassed 12 months. Measures: Researchers formed unique partnerships among community service organizations (CSO), faith-based organizations (FBO), author affiliated school of nursing, and community organizations to implement Healthy People 2010 goals. The program provided "health information stations" to focus on delivery of monthly culturally relevant messages to meet the health needs in the community. Results: This program provided tailored health messages to 11 CSO and FBO. Outcome measures include an increase in health promotion knowledge, desire for furtherance and expansion of programs, and improved contacts within the community. Conclusions: The results from this study provide achievement of overall program goals, suggestions for improved evaluation strategies, implementation plans, and examples of specific topical messages.
A novel physiological mechanism of glycine-induced immunomodulation: Na+-coupled amino acid transporter currents in cultured brain macrophages.

Glycine is known to modulate immune cell responses. However, the physiological mechanisms underlying inhibitory effects of glycine on macrophages are not well understood. Here we show that glycine is capable of inducing inward currents in brain macrophages (microglia). In contrast to glycine, the glycine receptor agonist taurine failed to elicit currents. Glycine-evoked currents of brain macrophages were unaffected by strychnine, Cl−-free extracellular solution, N-[3-(4′-fluorophenyl)-3-(4′-phenylphenoxy)propyl])sarcosine (NFPS) and amoxapine, but were abolished upon omission of extracellular Na+. Furthermore, glycine caused increases in the intracellular Na+ concentration and pronounced membrane depolarization. Glycine-evoked depolarization was Na+ dependent and occurred independently of the intracellular Cl− concentration. Similarly to glycine, glutamine and α-(methylamino)isobutyric acid (MeAIB) elicited inward currents in brain macrophages. In the presence of either glutamine or MeAIB, glycine-induced currents were inhibited. It is concluded that neither functional glycine receptors nor glycine transporters are expressed in brain macrophages. We suggest that glycine mediates its effects by activation of system A Na+-coupled neutral amino acid transporters.
An adaptive multiuser interference rejection algorithm for direct-sequence code division multiple access

In this paper we consider a direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) system from the framework of a discrete event dynamic system (DEDS) and develop infinitesimal perturbation analysis (IPA) for estimating the sensitivity of the average probability of bit-error in such systems. The above estimates are shown to be unbiased, and this technique is then further incorporated into a stochastic gradient algorithm for achieving adaptive multiuser interference rejection. Specifically, we develop an algorithm for an adaptive linear detector with the average probability of error being the minimization criterion. This algorithm is shown to converge, and the resulting detector performs better than both the matched filter detector as well as the minimum mean squared error (MMSE) detector. >
Relaxation of Transverse Magnetization for Coupled Spins

The sections in this article are 1 Introduction 2 Redfield Theory and Transverse Relaxation 3 Application to Molecular Structure and Dynamics in Na2PHO3 4 Discussion 5 Summary 6 Biographical Sketches Related Articles
An empirical formula for gas switch breakdown delay

An empirical scaling relationship between the mean electric field and the breakdown time has been found. Many divergent sets of data were used from breakdown experiments on power lines, laser-triggered switches, trigatrons, e-beam triggered gaps, sharp point electrode to plane gaps, and uniform field gaps. This relationship builds on the Felsenthal and Proud data/sup 1/ and extends their breakdown time delay (formative time) data by three orders of magnitude and into the region of interest for triggered gas switching. The empirical relationship shows that the data bases are related by /spl rho//spl tau/ = 97800 (E//spl rho/)/sup -3.44/ where /spl rho/ is the gas density in gm/cc, /spl tau/ is the time delay to breakdown in seconds, and E is the average electric field in kV/cm. The data indicates that electrically triggered gaps, laser triggered gaps, and untriggered gaps are governed by the same time-delay processes. Predictions can be made of trigger gap geometry, trigger delays, and trigger polarity effects. Breakdown delays of sub-centimeter-long to at least 8-meter-long gaps in air with either high or low field-enhanced electrodes are described by this equation. In addition, this relationship appears to be valid for a variety of gases and even accurately predicts the breakdown delay of mixtures of air and SF/sub 6/.
Confinement/deconfinement transition of large N gauge theories with N f fundamentals: n f /n finite

Abstract We consider large N zero-coupling d-dimensional U ( N ) gauge theories, with N f matter fields in the fundamental representation on a compact spatial manifold S d − 1 × time, with N f / N finite. The Gauss' law constraint induces interactions among the fields, in spite of the zero-coupling. This class of theories undergo a 3rd order deconfinement phase transition at a temperature T c proportional to the inverse length scale of the compact manifold. The low-temperature phase has a free-energy of O ( N f 2 ) , interpreted as that of a gas of (color singlet) mesons and glueballs. The high-temperature (deconfinement) phase has a free energy of order N 2 f ( N f / N , T ) , which is interpreted as that of a gas of gluons and of fundamental and anti-fundamental matter states. This suggests the existence of a dual string theory, and a transition to a black hole at high temperature.