cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Does The α-Subunit of the Red Cell Membrane Na+/K+-ATPase Exist as a Homodimer?

Chemical cross-linking techniques have been used in prior studies to demonstrate associations between the subunits of the Na+/K+ -ATPase in purified kidney microsomes. Both alpha-alpha and alpha-beta subunit interactions have been observed depending upon the cross-linking reagent and enzyme substrate conditions. The Na+/K+-ATPase represents the predominant protein species in purified kidney preparations and subunit associations could be directly assayed by densitometric scans of Polyacrylamide gels of cross-linked preparations (1).
Progress in the understanding of the pathology and pathogenesis of cutaneous drug eruptions : implications for management.

Cutaneous drug eruptions are among the most common adverse reactions to drug therapy. The etiology may reflect immunologic or nonimmunologic mechanisms, the former encompassing all of the classic Gell and Combs immune mechanisms. Cumulative and synergistic effects of drugs include those interactions of pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic factors reflecting the alteration by one drug of the effective serum concentration of another and the functions of drugs and their metabolites that interact to evoke cutaneous and systemic adverse reactions. Recent observations include the role of concurrent infection with lymphotropic viruses and drug effects that, through the enhancement of lymphoid blast transformation and/or lymphocyte survival and the contribution of intercurrent systemic connective tissue disease syndromes, promote enhanced lymphocyte longevity and the acquisition of progressively broadening autoantibody specificities. The latter are particularly apposite to drug-induced lupus erythematosus and to drug reactions in the setting of HIV infection. Specific common types of cutaneous drug eruptions will be discussed in this review. Successful management of cutaneous drug eruptions relies upon the prompt discontinuation of the causative medication; most drug eruptions have a good prognosis after this is accomplished. Oral or topical corticosteroids can be administered to aid in the resolution of some types of eruptions. Antihistamines or anti-inflammatory agents may also be administered for some eruptions.
Bacterial Growth and Biofouling Control in Purified Water Systems

Purified water used in product formulation, cleaning, and cooling operations has evolved from a process fluid to an essential raw material. Levels of biological and abiological contaminants which were undetectable five years ago are now regarded as unacceptable for many products and processes. While recent advances in analytical chemistry and fine particle physics have resulted in dramatic reductions in abiological contaminants, biological contamination of purified waters used in these critical industries remains a significant challenge to future product development. In the semiconductor industry, 1 pm and smaller line-width devices are subject to fatal defects as a result of bacteria present in “ultrapure water.” Active ingredient degradation and pyrogen contamination of heat labile biological and medical devices have been linked to purified water contamination. The extent of bacterial growth and biofilm formation in 18 MOhmcm waters is a function of materials selection, systems design, and preventative maintenance protocol Limiting essential growth factors — C, N, P, S, trace elements, light — in purified water systems is an important key to the control of biological contamination. Development of on-line, real time biofouling detection systems is currently underway. These evolving systems, which include supercritical fluid extraction of signature biomarkers and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy should provide insight into conditions pro-moting the development of fouling biofilms. Future applications of novel detection and treatment systems will include advanced life support systems such as those found on the space station.
Physiological, metabolic and biotechnological features of extremely thermophilic microorganisms

The current upper thermal limit for life as we know it is approximately 120°C. Microorganisms that grow optimally at temperatures of 75°C and above are usually referred to as 'extreme thermophiles' and include both bacteria and archaea. For over a century, there has been great scientific curiosity in the basic tenets that support life in thermal biotopes on earth and potentially on other solar bodies. Extreme thermophiles can be aerobes, anaerobes, autotrophs, heterotrophs, or chemolithotrophs, and are found in diverse environments including shallow marine fissures, deep sea hydrothermal vents, terrestrial hot springs-basically, anywhere there is hot water. Initial efforts to study extreme thermophiles faced challenges with their isolation from difficult to access locales, problems with their cultivation in laboratories, and lack of molecular tools. Fortunately, because of their relatively small genomes, many extreme thermophiles were among the first organisms to be sequenced, thereby opening up the application of systems biology-based methods to probe their unique physiological, metabolic and biotechnological features. The bacterial genera Caldicellulosiruptor, Thermotoga and Thermus, and the archaea belonging to the orders Thermococcales and Sulfolobales, are among the most studied extreme thermophiles to date. The recent emergence of genetic tools for many of these organisms provides the opportunity to move beyond basic discovery and manipulation to biotechnologically relevant applications of metabolic engineering. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2017, 9:e1377. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1377 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Regarding the Optimality of Cartel Fines

Economic approaches to determining criminal sanctions focus on harm-based “optimal” penalties. In this note, we examine the extent to which the criminal fines for organizations convicted of price fixing contained in the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines (USSG) and relied on by the U.S. Department of Justice (“US DOJ”) for criminal price fixing fines are consistent with the economic principles of harm-based “optimal” penalties. We first describe the economic approach to optimal criminal sanctions in price fixing cases and the approach contained in the USSG. We then reconcile the two approaches and illustrate the conditions under which the approaches are consistent. The article uses a simple economic model where the probability of detection is assumed to be one and there are no enforcement costs, and shows the optimal, harm-based penalty coincides with the minimum possible penalty advised by the Sentencing Guidelines. The model then is used to examine the relationship between the probability of detection and the range of penalties prescribed in the Guidelines.
Multiring Fiducial Systems for Scalable Fiducial-Tracking Augmented Reality

In augmented reality (AR), a user can see a virtual world as well as the real world. To avoid registration problems between the virtual world and the real world, the user's viewing pose in both worlds should be kept the same. Fiducial-tracking AR is an attractive approach to the registration problem. However, most of the developed fiducialtracking AR systems have restricted workspaces. To provide a wide range of workspaces (from a small-scale desktop space to a large-scale space) and a wide range of views (from far views to detailed views), an AR system should have scalability. In this paper, we present multiring color fiducial systems and a real-time fiducial detection method for scalable fiducial-tracking AR. We analyze the optimal ring width and develop formulas to obtain the optimal fiducial set with applicationspecific inputs. We develop a real-time ring-detection method that converts the five-DOF ellipse-detection problem to a series of simple steps with a 1-D segmentfilter and multithreshold segmentation. The results lead to a simple and inexpensive means of achieving scalable-area tracking for AR and an approach that is suitable as an optical tracking method for VR as well.
The serological relationship of bovine whey albumin to serum albumin.

Serological reactions are becoming increasingly important in the development of quantitative methods for the determination and characterization of native proteins. These reactions provide a basis for analytical methods that combine high sensitivity with a high degree of specificity. In contrast to conventional methods, which distinguish different proteins by their chemical and physical properties, serological methods reveal likeness or difference in structure. In the preceding paper, Polis, Shmukler, and Custer (1) have described the isolation of a crystalline albumin present in trace amounts in the whey of cow’s milk. They reported that this crystalline milk albumin exhibited physical and chemical properties attributable to crystalline bovine serum albumin. Our report describes the application of the Schultz-Dale (2, 3) technique to establish the identity of these two proteins. EXPERIMENTAL
Mira Nair's Big Fat Bollywood Wedding: Monsoon Wedding and Global Cultural Disjuncture

(2002). Mira Nair's Big Fat Bollywood Wedding: Monsoon Wedding and Global Cultural Disjuncture. South Asian Review: Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 5-5.
Re-Locating DeMille

This chapter briefly looks to the ways that DeMille’s significance has been marginalized by a lack of contextual awareness in his critics and summarizes the main arguments of this text. The chapter’s title is taken from a play written by a young, pre-Hollywood DeMille, where a dead man’s ghost returns to correct the wrongs he committed throughout his life. Following his own death, in January, 1959, DeMille’s “ghost” first appeared through numerous insider “tell-all’s” that mocked him as a hypocritical martinet with odd sexual fetishes. But the director’s public appeal remained strong—particularly through the annual television broadcast of The Ten Commandments—and raises the question of why this is so.
Accelerating Simulation with FPGAs

This chapter presents an approach to accelerating processor simulation using FPGAs. This is distinguished from traditional uses of FPGAs, and the increased development effort from using FPGAs is discussed. Techniques are presented to efficiently control a highly distributed simulation on an FPGA. Time-multiplexing the simulator is presented in order to simulate numerous virtual cores while improving utilization of functional units.
Developmental abnormalities in humans

Recently, tremendous advances have been made in our understanding of pre- and perinatal death and congenital anomaly, but many aspects of the field remain unknown and require the continued collaboration of workers in many clinical and basic science disciplines. Most of mankind dies before, not after birth, mostly due to chromosome abnormalities arising during pregenesis. A few trisomy 13 and 18 cases survive till birth by virtue of placental mosaicism; even trisomy 21 is an 80% prenatally lethal and a postnatally sublethal syndrome. Most aneuploid individuals surviving postnatally have sex chromosomes abnormalities (47,XXY, 47,XYY, 47,XXX). Until recently the term "monsters" was applied to many abnormalities of blastogenesis--i.e. the disruptions and malformations arising during the first 4 weeks of embyronic development (till the end of mesoderm formation). This includes not only acardia/acephaly, but also holoprosencephaly, sirenomelia, gross defects of cord, body wall and -stalk formation and conjoined twins, but also non-conjoined monozygotic twins with apparent high prenatal mortality and a high incidence of midline anomalies. One of the most important recent insights has been that associations, e.g. the VACTERAL association, and the relatively characteristic combination of anomalies seen in infants of diabetic mothers, represent disruptions of blastogenesis. The latter represent a particularly satisfying development in the field since it has been shown that control of the woman's blood sugar levels before, during and after conception helps to reduce the high incidence of defects of blastogenesis in infants of diabetic mothers. Most malformations arise during organogenesis in secondary or epimorphic fields and mostly represent anomalies of incomplete, less commonly of abnormal differentiation. An important distinction must be made between mild malformations (all-or-none defects of organogenesis) which are relatively innocuous and common in the population but never normal, and minor anomalies which are graded defects of phenogenogenesis (i.e. of the developmental processes during the fetal period (weeks 8-10 p.c.), and the most frequent anomalies in aneuploidy syndromes with resulting loss of family resemblance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
A Brief Introduction to Geometric Invariant Theory

We provide a brief introduction to Geometric Invariant Theory. Specifically, we discuss some foundational concepts and results and illustrate the general theory by way of examples.
Making CAR T Cells a Solid Option for Solid Tumors

Adoptive cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells aims to redirect the patient's own immune system to selectively attack cancer cells. To do so, CAR T cells are endowed with specific antigen recognition moieties fused to signaling and costimulatory domains. While this approach has shown great success for the treatment of B cell malignancies, response rates among patients with solid cancers are less favorable. The major challenges for CAR T cell immunotherapy in solid cancers are the identification of unique tumor target antigens, as well as improving CAR T cell trafficking to and expansion at the tumor site. This review focuses on combinatorial antigen targeting, regional delivery and approaches to improve CAR T cell persistence in the face of a hostile tumor microenvironment.
Sorry, I Didn’t Catch That! An Investigation of Non-understanding Errors and Recovery Strategies

We present results from an extensive empirical analysis of non-understanding errors and ten non-understanding recovery strategies, based on a corpus of dialogs collected with a spoken dialog system that handles conference room reservations. More specifically, the issues we investigate are: what are the main sources of non-understanding errors? What is the impact of these errors on global performance? How do various strategies for recovery from non-understandings compare to each other? What are the relationships between these strategies and subsequent user response types, and which response types are more likely to lead to successful recovery? Can dialog performance be improved by using a smarter policy for engaging the non-understanding recovery strategies? If so, can we learn such a policy from data? Whenever available, we compare and contrast our results with other studies in the literature. Finally, we summarize the lessons learned and present our plans for future work inspired by this analysis.
Peripheral Vascular Disease Diagnostic Related Outcomes in Diabetic Charcot Reconstruction.

Abstract Postreconstructive outcomes were compared in diabetic patients with Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) who had peripheral arterial disease (PAD) diagnosed with angiography versus patients who were diagnosed clinically. A retrospective review was performed of patients with diabetic CN requiring reconstruction secondary to ulceration and/or acute infection. Of the 284 patients in the CN osseous reconstruction cohort, after accounting for exclusion criteria, 59 (20.8%) patients with PAD were included in the analyses. Forty (67.8%) of these 59 patients were diagnosed with PAD clinically and 19 (32.2%) were diagnosed with the use of angiography. Bivariate analysis was used to compare outcomes between those diagnosed with PAD via angiography versus those diagnosed clinically for the following postreconstruction outcomes: wound healing, delayed healing, surgical site infection, pin tract infection, osteomyelitis, dehiscence, transfer ulcer, new site of Charcot collapse, contralateral Charcot event, nonunion, major lower extremity amputation, and return to ambulation. Bivariate analysis found return to ambulation postreconstruction (p = .0054) to be the only statistically significant factor. There was a trend toward significance for major lower extremity amputation, with higher rates of amputation in the clinically diagnosed PAD arm. Return to ambulation indicates improved functional outcomes. The main goal of limb salvage should be focused on improving the patient's functional performance. With significantly faster rates of return to ambulation and a trend toward decreased rates of major amputation, angiography was found to be a better assessor of PAD than clinical evaluations.
Productividad laboral contracíclica: el caso español

This paper explores the role of labor regulation over the cyclical pattern of labor productivity by analyzing the case of Spain, which has gone in a few years from a strongly pro-cyclical pattern to a counter-cyclical one. A description of the mechanism underlying the counter-cyclical behavior of Spanish labor productivity has thus far not been formulated. In this paper, we offer an explanation based on Oi’s 1962 model that seems to fit with the empirical evidence for Spanish labor productivity. Our results suggest that the high rigidity in wages and the great flexibility in labor, related to temporary workers following the 1984 legislative reform, is the main cause of the countercyclical pattern of Spanish labor productivity. Our findings are in line with previous papers highlighting the crucial influence of labor market institutions over the cyclical pattern. In addition, our analysis shows that the strong increase in labor productivity during contractions lack the appropriate fundamentals for the long term, given that the increase Spanish labor productivity is on average very weak in the long term.
How fluent? Part B. Underlying contributors to continuous measures of fluency in aphasia

Background: While persons with aphasia (PwA) are often dichotomised as fluent or nonfluent, agreement that fluency is not an all-or-nothing construct has led to the use of continuous variables as a...
The association of interleukin-6 value, interleukin inhibitors, and outcomes of patients with COVID-19 in New York City.

Since cytokine release syndrome with elevation of interleukin-6 (IL-6) is considered to be associated with severe cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); IL-6 inhibitors, such as tocilizumab, are expected to be effective for its treatment. This was a retrospective study using a consecutive cohort of 224 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in March 2020. Patients were divided into those admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU group) and those not (no ICU group), and clinical data including usage of tocilizumab were compared. Correlation between IL-6 value at admission and at peak, and tocilizumab use, as well as clinical outcomes were also investigated. The ICU group had higher rates of pre-existing comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, and coronary disease, and higher IL-6 than no ICU group (all P < .05). Age, peak IL-6, and peak d-dimer were significant predictors of in-hospital mortality (1.05 [1.01-1.09], P = .012; 1.001 [1.000-1.002], P = .002; 1.10 [1.03-1.18], P = .008). Receiver operating characteristics curve showed higher predictability of in-hospital mortality with IL-6 at peak than others (area under curve; IL-6 at peak: 0.875 [0.87-0.942], IL-6 at admission: 0.794 [0.699-0.889], d-dimer at peak 0.787 [0.690-0.883], d-dimer at admission 0.726 [0.625-0.827]). Incidence of fungal infections was significantly higher in patients who were given tocilizumab than those who were not (13.0% vs 1.1%, P < .001). Notably, tocilizumab did not affect in-hospital mortality after adjustment including IL-6 (odds ratio [95% confidential interval]: 1.00 [0.27-3.72, P = .998]). Age, peak IL-6, and peak d-dimer levels were significant predictors of in-hospital mortality. Tocilizumab did not decrease in-hospital mortality in our cohort.
Antidiabetic medication use in commercially insured children and adolescents in the United States from 2004 to 2019.

AIM To describe the patterns of non-insulin antidiabetic medication use, initiation and adherence in the paediatric population. METHODS We conducted a descriptive study of non-insulin antidiabetic medication use in children and adolescents (aged 10-18 years) using real-world data from a nationwide US commercial claims database (January 2004-September 2019). Trends in the prevalence of non-insulin antidiabetic medication use overall and by class were evaluated. Among new users of non-insulin antidiabetic agents, medication adherence was examined using group-based trajectory models. RESULTS In a cohort of more than 1 million paediatric patients, the prevalence of any non-insulin antidiabetic medication use was 75.7 per 100 000 patients in 2004 and more than doubled to 162.0 per 100 000 in 2019. Biguanides (metformin) was by far the most widely used medication class. The use of newer classes was low (<10 per 100 000), but there was an uptake in the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists after liraglutide received paediatric approval in 2019. Medication adherence was poor during the 18 months after treatment initiation: 79.6% of initiators experienced an early treatment interruption (median time to interruption: 90 days among metformin monotherapy initiators) and 21% of initiators did not return for a prescription refill after the first month. CONCLUSIONS There was a substantial increase in non-insulin antidiabetic medication use among commercially insured paediatric patients from 2004 to 2019. Nearly all patients were treated with metformin, while the use of newer agents remained low. Despite the increase in medication use, short treatment episodes were observed, even among patients with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, raising concern over poor adherence.
The Household Financial Losses Triggered by an Immigration Arrest, and How State and Local Government Can Most Effectively Protect Their Constituents:

Through a survey of 125 long-term resident households in Pima County, Arizona, this study finds that an immigration arrest costs each household an average of more than $24,000. These costs accumula...
Five-Year Trends in Payments for Neurologist-Prescribed Drugs in Medicare Part D

Objective To determine whether there was an increase in payments for neurologist-prescribed drugs, we performed a retrospective analysis of prescription claims in the Medicare Part D Prescriber Public Use Files from 2013 to 2017. Methods We included claims prescribed by providers with the taxonomy “neurology” and included drugs present in all 5 years. Drugs were designated in 2013 as generic (GEN), brand name only (BNO), and brand name prescribed even though a generic equivalent is available (BNGE). To observe payment trends, the percentage change in the per claim payment was compared between drug classes. Results We included 520 drugs, of which 322 were GEN, 61 were BNO, and 137 were BNGE, representing 90,716,536 claims and generating payments of $26,654,750,720. While the number of claims from 2013 to 2017 increased only 7.6%, the total payment increased 50.4%. Adjusted for inflation, claim payments for GEN drug increased 0.6%, compared to significant increases in BNO and BNGE drugs of 42.4% and 45.0% (ptrend 50% of the total payments despite being only 4.3% of claims. Conclusions Payments for neurologist-prescribed brand name, but not generic, drugs in Medicare Part D increased consistently and well above inflation from 2013 to 2017. Unless the overall trend stabilizes or is reversed or high cost-to-claim drugs are addressed, this trend will place an increasing burden on the neurologic Medicare budget.
Ironic Egalitarianism: When hierarchy-attenuating motives increase hierarchy-enhancing beliefs

Abstract A growing number of businesses are focusing on diversity and inclusion efforts. Amidst this recent interest, scholars have sought to understand the ideologies that perpetuate inequality, concentrating primarily on the hierarchy-enhancing ideologies that antiegalitarians leverage to maintain inequality. However, we suggest that the hierarchy-enhancing beliefs typically associated with antiegalitarians (e.g., stereotypes, meritocracy) sometimes appeal to people at the opposite end of the ideological pole: egalitarians. Across four preregistered studies, we demonstrate that when hierarchy-enhancing myths may support practices aimed at promoting organizational diversity, egalitarians increasingly endorse these myths that they typically reject. When essentialism (Study 1), the Protestant work ethic (Study 2), and gender stereotypes (Study 4) supported organizational diversity, egalitarians increasingly endorsed these beliefs. They also exhibited scientific skepticism when findings jeopardized affirmative action efforts (Study 3). These findings illustrate that, ironically, pro-diversity goals can encourage egalitarians to mobilize and endorse beliefs that are typically associated with antiegalitarians and the justification of inequality.
Sensor-based computational approach to preventing back injuries in construction workers

Abstract Repetitive labor-intensive tasks are common in civil construction projects. Construction workers are prone to getting into musculoskeletal disorders-related injuries while performing such activities. The paper proposes a novel approach to identify the theoretical maximum attainable level of safety, safety frontier, for a given construction task that can be achieved in perfect conditions under good management. The paper outlines the method and the framework components and demonstrates them through an actual construction-lab-based case study. The case study includes computation of safety frontier for lifting and setting down tasks. For this, the paper proposes to use a depth sensor camera (Kinect) for workers' postural data collection while performing the task. With the postural data as an input feature, all the unique actions are identified using a random forest classifier model for each movement frame. Also, the paper proposes to develop a moment prediction model to predict the lower back moment exerted in each movement frame. The lower back moment is computed using inverse kinematics and inverse dynamic in OpenSim for the training data set. Then, the paper implements a random forest regression algorithm to create a moment prediction model with postural data and velocity as input features. Finally, the safe work posture, safety frontier is computed, combining the unique actions exerting minimum lower back moment. The computed safety frontier can potentially help the safety managers to improve their safety strategies by providing a higher safety benchmark for monitoring their construction site.
The Readability of Segmented and Conventional Numerals

The objective of this research was to compare the readability of slanted and vertically segmented numerals with the readability of the numeral design recommended in most human engineering guides. The specific variable investigated was the accuracy with which the numbers could be read at three exposure times. Results indicated that the readability of the slanted segmented numerals was no better than that of the vertical segmented numerals. Both forms of segmented displays were significantly inferior to the conventional numerals in readability. It was concluded that segmented displays, as presently designed, should not be used where accuracy is critical and exposure time is severely limited.
Transient hypersensitivity to soybean meal in the early-weaned pig.

An experiment was conducted to determine whether baby pigs develop hypersensitivity to dietary soybean proteins. Thirty-two pigs were orally infused with either dried skim milk (5 g/d; control) or soybean meal (48% CP; 5 g/d) from d 7 to 14 after birth. Sows were fed a corn-corn gluten meal-based diet supplemented with lysine and tryptophan to avoid exposure of pigs to soybean proteins. Pigs were weaned at 21 d of age and fed diets containing either soybean meal or milk proteins until d 56. One half of the pigs were killed at 28 d of age and the rest at 56 d of age. Segments of small intestine were collected, and intraepithelial lymphocytes were isolated. At 28 d of age, pigs fed diets containing soybean meal had lower (P less than .05) villus height (221 vs 298 microns) and rate of gain (86 vs 204 g/d) than control pigs did. Pigs fed a diet containing soybean meal had higher (P less than .05) immunoglobulin G (IgG) titers to soybean protein than did pigs fed a milk protein-based diet. Blood and intestinal lymphocytes collected on d 28 and 56 did not exhibit any proliferative response when cultured with purified soy proteins (2.5 or 5 microns/ml). Phytohemagglutinin- and pokeweed mitogen-induced lymphocyte proliferations were higher (P less than .05) at d 56 than at d 28, but there were no differences attributable to protein source. There were no differences (P greater than .05) in skin-fold thickness measurements following intradermal injection with soy or milk proteins. Decreased villus height and increased serum IgG titers to soybean proteins coinciding with inferior performance of early weaned pigs fed diets containing soybean meal indicate that conventionally processed, commercial soybean meal may retain some antigens that can cause transient hypersensitivity in piglets.
Composition, Structure and Evolution of Uranian and Neptunian Satellites

Large uncertainties in the current estimated densities or all of these satellites prevent detailed modeling or predictions. Nevertheless, current evidence suggests that at least Titania and Oberon might have "anomalously" high densities (2-3 g cm^)-3)), possibly requiring almost ice-free hydrated silicates or formation in a CO-rich environment, implying presence or co-clathrate and a small ice/rock ratio. Triton and the four largest satellites or Uranus are massive enough to have undergone significant accretional heating and early differentiation; NH_3-H_2O volcanism; partial outgassing or CO, N_2, CH_4; formation or dark surficial deposits or carbon-rich material obtained by UV irradiation or outgassed material; and, at least in the cases or Ariel and Triton, a possibility or weak ongoing icy volcanic activity. Triton may be the largest captured body in the solar system, with an unusual history and composition, including the possibility or substantial liquid or solid nitrogen obtained from either primordial NH_3 photolysis or clathrate decomposition.
Memory-bounded dynamic programming for DEC-POMDPs

Decentralized decision making under uncertainty has been shown to be intractable when each agent has different partial information about the domain. Thus, improving the applicability and scalability of planning algorithms is an important challenge. We present the first memory-bounded dynamic programming algorithm for finite-horizon decentralized POMDPs. A set of heuristics is used to identify relevant points of the infinitely large belief space. Using these belief points, the algorithm successively selects the best joint policies for each horizon. The algorithm is extremely efficient, having linear time and space complexity with respect to the horizon length. Experimental results show that it can handle horizons that are multiple orders of magnitude larger than what was previously possible, while achieving the same or better solution quality. These results significantly increase the applicability of decentralized decision-making techniques.
Mitophagy defects arising from BNip3 loss promote mammary tumor progression to metastasis

BNip3 is a hypoxia-inducible protein that targets mitochondria for autophagosomal degradation. We report a novel tumor suppressor role for BNip3 in a clinically relevant mouse model of mammary tumorigenesis. BNip3 delays primary mammary tumor growth and progression by preventing the accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria and resultant excess ROS production. In the absence of BNip3, mammary tumor cells are unable to reduce mitochondrial mass effectively and elevated mitochondrial ROS increases the expression of Hif-1α and Hif target genes, including those involved in glycolysis and angiogenesis—two processes that are also markedly increased in BNip3-null tumors. Glycolysis inhibition attenuates the growth of BNip3-null tumor cells, revealing an increased dependence on autophagy for survival. We also demonstrate that BNIP3 deletion can be used as a prognostic marker of tumor progression to metastasis in human triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). These studies show that mitochondrial dysfunction—caused by defects in mitophagy—can promote the Warburg effect and tumor progression, and suggest better approaches to stratifying TNBC for treatment.
Gas transport properties of polysulphones: 2. Effect of bisphenol connector groups

Abstract The gas sorption and transport properties of a series of polysulphones in which the isopropylidene unit of bisphenol A polysulphone (PSF) has been replaced with another molecular group are reported. Bisphenol A polysulphone is compared to several newly synthesized materials, including hexafluorobisphenol A polysulphone (HFPSF), bisphenol F polysulphone (PSF-F), and bisphenol O polysulphone (PSF-O). These polymers are also compared to Victrex™ polyethersulphone (PES). The effect of the substituents on chain mobility and chain packing has been related to the gas transport properties. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetry were used to judge chain mobility, while X-ray diffraction and free volume calculations give information about chain packing. Permeability measurements were made for He, H2, O2, N2, CH4 and CO2 at 35°C over a range of pressures up to 20 atm. Sorption experiments were also done for N2, CH4 and CO2 under the same conditions. The permeability coefficients for all gases rank in the order: HFPSF > PSF > PSF-F ≅ PSF-O > PES. With the exception of PES, these permeability trends are in good agreement with the fractional free volume. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
Caffeinol confers cortical but not subcortical neuroprotection after transient focal cerebral ischemia in rats

The combination of low-dose ethanol and caffeine (caffeinol) protects cortical areas of the brain from damage produced by distal focal ischemia in rats. There are no data, however, as to whether caffeinol influences injury in subcortical brain regions. Rats were anesthetized with halothane and subjected to 2 h of MCAo by poly-l-lysine-coated intraluminal suture. Caffeinol [a combination of ethanol, 0.33 g/kg, and caffeine, 10 mg/kg (n=5)] or vehicle (0.9% NaCl; n=7) was administered by i.v. infusion over a 2.5-h period beginning 15 min after reperfusion. Neurological status was evaluated daily, and histopathology was quantified at 3 days. Caffeinol therapy significantly improved the neurological score, reduced the total infarct volume (by 52%) and cortical infarct areas at multiple coronal levels, but subcortical infarction and brain swelling were not affected.
Sphalerons in an SU(2) model with one Higgs doublet and one scalar singlet

The sphaleron structure in an SU(2) model with one Higgs doublet and one scalar singlet is examined. The sphaleron energy is numerically calculated as a function of the Higgs-boson mass and the self-coupling constant of the scalar field, and illustrative parameter configurations are also given.
Children Born to Diabetic Mothers May be More Likely to Have Intellectual Disability

Intellectual disability (ID) is a major public health condition that usually develops in utero and causes lifelong disability. Despite improvements in pregnancy and delivery care that have resulted in dramatic decreases in infant mortality rates, the incidence of ID has remained constant over the past 20 years. There may still be uncharacterized preventable causes of ID such as Diabetes Mellitus (DM). We used statewide individual level de-identified data for maternal and child pairs obtained by linking Medicaid claims, Department of Education, and Department of Disabilities and Special Needs data from 2000 to 2007 for all mother-child pairs with a minimum follow-up of 3-years post birth or until a diagnosis of ID. To ascertain the adjusted relationship between DM and ID, we fit a logistic regression model taking into account individual level clustering on mothers for multiple pregnancies using the population-averaged Generalized Estimating Equations method. Of the 162,611 eligible maternal and child pairs, 5,667 (3.49 %) of the children were diagnosed with ID between birth and 3-years of age. After adjustment for covariates the independent relationship between DM and ID was significant with odds ratio of 1.10 (1.01-1.12). On sub-analysis, patients with pre-pregnancy DM had the highest effect measure with an estimated odds ratio of 1.32 (0.84, 2.09), although this was not statistically significant. In this large cohort of mothers and children in South Carolina, we found a small but statistically significant increased risk for ID among children born to mothers with DM. Additional information about the association between maternal DM and risk of ID in children may lead to the development of effective preventive interventions on the individual and public health levels.
Development and pilot testing of a vitiligo screening tool

Studies aimed at understanding the pathology, genetics, and therapeutic response of vitiligo rely on asking a single question about ‘physician-diagnosed’ vitiligo on surveys to identify subjects for research. However, this type of self-reporting is not sufficient. Our objective was to determine if the patient-administered Vitiligo Screening Tool (VISTO) is a sensitive and specific instrument for the detection of vitiligo in an adult population. The VISTO consists of eight closed-ended questions to assess whether the survey participant has ever been diagnosed with vitiligo by a healthcare worker and uses characteristic pictures and descriptions to inquire about the subtype and extent of any skin lesions. 159 patients at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital dermatology clinic with or without a diagnosis of vitiligo were recruited. A board-certified dermatologist confirmed or excluded the diagnosis of vitiligo in each subject. 147 completed questionnaires were analyzed, 47 cases and 100 controls. The pictorial question showed 97.9 % sensitivity and 98 % specificity for diagnosis of vitiligo. Answering “yes” to being diagnosed with vitiligo by a dermatologist and choosing one photographic representation of vitiligo showed 95.2 % sensitivity and 100 % specificity for diagnosis of vitiligo. We conclude that VISTO is a highly sensitive and specific, low-burden, self-administered tool for identifying vitiligo among adult English speakers. We believe this tool will provide a simple, cost-effective way to confirm vitiligo prior to enrollment in clinical trials as well as for gathering large-scale epidemiologic data in remote populations. Future work to refine the VISTO is needed prior to use in genotype–phenotype correlation studies.
Action of cancer chemotherapy-radiotherapy on spleen hypertrophy response to corynebacterium parvum adjuvant therapy

Abstract Mouse lympho-hemopoietic tissue is strongly affected by C. parvum, and spleen tissue and cells show markedly increased cycling and proliferative activity following exposure. Cancer chemotherapeutic agents were tested in combination with C. parvum in two temporal sequences, i.e., before C. parvum stimulation or after C. parvum stimulation. The data show that radiation and radiomimetric aikylating agents such as nitrogen mustard and BCNU can strongly interfere with the spleen proliferative response. The antimetabolites cytosine arabinoside and hydroxyurea exerted minimal effect, and 5-fluorouracil interfered with the growth response of the C. parvum stimulated proliferating spleen. The alkylating agent cyclophosphamidewas anomalous in its action and did not interfere with the C. parvum spleen effect whether sequenced before or after C. parvum stimulation.
Mindfulness Meditation Practices as Adjunctive Treatments for Psychiatric Disorders

Mindfulness meditation-based therapies are being increasingly used as interventions for psychiatric disorders. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) have been studied extensively. MBSR is beneficial for general psychological health and pain management. MBCT is recommended as an adjunctive treatment for unipolar depression. Both MBSR and MBCT have efficacy for anxiety symptoms. Informed clinicians can do much to support their patients who are receiving mindfulness training. This review provides information needed by clinicians to help patients maximize the benefits of mindfulness training and develop an enduring meditation practice.
Classification of diabetic retinopathy images using multi-class multiple-instance learning based on color correlogram features

All people with diabetes have the risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR), a vision-threatening complication. Early detection and timely treatment can reduce the occurrence of blindness due to DR. Computer-aided diagnosis has the potential benefit of improving the accuracy and speed in DR detection. This study is concerned with automatic classification of images with microaneurysm (MA) and neovascularization (NV), two important DR clinical findings. Together with normal images, this presents a 3-class classification problem. We propose a modified color auto-correlogram feature (AutoCC) with low dimensionality that is spectrally tuned towards DR images. Recognizing the fact that the images with or without MA or NV are generally different only in small, localized regions, we propose to employ a multi-class, multiple-instance learning framework for performing the classification task using the proposed feature. Extensive experiments including comparison with a few state-of-art image classification approaches have been performed and the results suggest that the proposed approach is promising as it outperforms other methods by a large margin.
Impact of Selective Grain Refinement on Superplastic Deformation: Finite Element Analysis

Recently, Friction Stir Processing has been introduced as an effective tool to refine the grain structure of sheet metals and enhance their superplasticity. A possible application of friction stir processing is selective grain refinement to enhance deformation uniformity and minimize localized thinning. This selective treatment will result in a sheet with grain size gradient. Very limited studies have been directed toward investigating the effect of grain size gradient on the superplastic deformation during SPF. In this work, Finite Element simulations for the free bulging of a dome made of 7075Al alloy were conducted to examine the effects of initial grain size gradient within the sheet on SPF characteristics. The results clearly demonstrate that selective grain refinement can be utilized to eliminate severe thinning and improve the integrity of the superplastic formed part.
What's in store for medical students? Awareness and utilization of expert nutrition guidelines among medical school preceptors.

Abstract Background. Instruction of physicians and other health professionals in medical nutrition sciences is among the expert recommendations to promote population health and reduce risks for cancer and other major causes of morbidity and mortality in the population. However, formal training in nutrition in United States medical schools is still lacking compared to the gains in basic and applied medical nutrition sciences. We sought to understand the awareness and current utilization of expert nutrition recommendations and practice guidelines among medical student faculty preceptors. Methods. We surveyed the teaching faculty who precept for first-, second-, and third-year medical students in two required courses at Boston University. The instrument queried preceptor awareness and current utilization of expert nutrition recommendations, nutritional management practice guidelines, as well as faculty–student interactions regarding patient nutritional education and counseling. Results. Of 187 faculty surveyed, 139 (74%) responded. Faculty reported using 2.3 expert guideline sources (N = 111; SD = 1.8; range = 0–8) but 83% had considered only one or no sources or did not remember what guidelines they had used. Eighty-four percent of preceptors expected students to routinely discuss nutritional practices with patients and/or their families; however, less than half of preceptors routinely provided feedback to students on patient nutritional education or counseling strategies. Conclusion. Our findings suggest gaps in faculty awareness and utilization of expert nutrition recommendations and practice guidelines relating to cancer and other chronic disease-risk reduction and population health promotion, underscoring the need for improvements in faculty and medical student training in basic and applied medical nutrition sciences.
Hyperfractionated total lymphoid irradiation and cyclophosphamide for preparation of previously transfused patients undergoing HLA-identical marrow transplantation for severe aplastic anemia

Abstract Purpose: To assess the immunosuppressive capacity of hyperfractionated total lymphoid irradiation and cyclophosphamide for transplantation of unmodified allogeneic marrow in sensitized aplastic anemia patients. Methods and Materials: From February 1983 to September 1990, 23 multiply transfused aplastic anemia patients underwent unmodified bone marrow transplantation from HLA genotypically identical sibling donors following preparation with 6 Gy hyperfractionated total lymphoid irradiation and 160 mg/kg cyclophosphamide. Graftversus-host disease prophylaxis included steroids in one patient, methotrexate in four, cyclosporine in seven, and methotrexate/cyclosporine in 12. There were 17 males and 6 females with a median age of 13 (range: 2.5–32). Results: One patient died early before engraftment of bacterial sepsis. Twenty-two patients were evaluable for engraftment. Three experienced graft failure including one primary, and two late graft failures associated with cyclosporine withdrawal. Acute graft-versus-host disease occurred in 722 (≥ grade II in 6), and chronic graftversus-host disease in 317 patients. Except for a patient who received total body irradiation for a second transplant, no patient in this series developed interstitial pneumonia. Fifteen patients are alive with follow-up of 38–125 months (median 68). The overall actuarial survival at 5 years is 69%, at 8 years it is 60%, with one late death. The survival of adult patients was similar to that of younger patients (≥ 16 years old: 63%, p = 0.002). No hypothyroidism or secondary malignancies have been documented in this series. Conclusion: Pretransplant immunosuppression with 6 Gy of hyperfractionated total lymphoid irradiation and 160 mg/kg CY reduces but does not eliminate the incidence of graft failure in sensitized aplastic anemia patients. The dose and the mode of administration of total lymphoid irradiation in this trial may be associated with a lower incidence of late side effects. Survival is comparable to that obtained using preparative regimens without radiation.
Diagnostic Problem Solving in Male Collegiate Athletic Trainers

Context: Knowledge and experience may be important factors for understanding expertise based upon a clinician's ability to select and execute an appropriate response as a clinician during injury evaluation. Objective: To describe how collegiate male certified athletic trainers represent injury-evaluation domain knowledge during a situational interview using a think-aloud protocol. Design: Qualitative. Setting: National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I and II colleges in National Athletic Trainers' Association District 3. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 20 male certified athletic trainers (n = 10 with less than 2 years of experience in the college setting and n = 10 with at least 10 years of experience in the college setting) participated in the study. Data Collection and Analysis: We collected data using a situational interview and questionnaire. Data were transcribed, reduced to meaningful units, and analyzed using verbal analysis procedures. Member checks, triangulation of data, fie...