cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resistance of gonadotropin releasing hormone drive to sex steroid-induced suppression in hyperandrogenic anovulation.

Women with hyperandrogenic anovulation (HAA) exhibit increased GnRH drive, as evidenced by a faster LH pulse frequency that slows in response to progestin-induced opioidergic tone. To determine whether increased GnRH-LH drive in HAA reflects altered sex steroid exposure caused by chronic anovulation or is an intrinsic hypothalamic attribute, we compared the pulsatile LH response to oral contraceptive (OC)-induced suppression in seven women with HAA, with that of seven eumenorrheic women (EW). LH levels were determined at 10-min intervals for 12 h after 19–21 days of OC use and 5–7 days after cessation. Testosterone, androstenedione, estradiol, FSH, and LH levels were determined at weekly intervals before, during, and after OC use. LH pulse number/12 h was higher (P < 0.001) in HAA during and after OCs, when compared with that of EW. Mean LH was increased in HAA before, during, and after OCs. Testosterone, androstenedione, and estradiol levels were higher in HAA before OCs, but they decreased to similar le...
Community Education Program on Oral Antidiabetes Medicines

More than 8 million Americans have been diagnosed with diabetes. Healthy People 2010, a health prevention initiative in the US, included an objective to increase the proportion of people with diabetes who receive formal diabetes education. Consistent with the national objective, a program was developed to provide education on self- management of the disease and to improve patient knowledge of oral antidiabetes medicines at a community pharmacy health education resource centre in Washington DC. Difficulties in providing comprehensive education on oral antidiabetes medicines with existing diabetes education programs are discussed. The content, sequence of the educational program, and the components of additional pharmaceutical care services are also described. (author abstract)
Stoppage of glycogenesis and "over-shoot" of induction of lipogenesis and its related enzyme activities in the liver of fasted-refed rats.

To elucidate the causes of changes of carbohydrate meta bolic pathways, the time course of utilization of dietary (U-14C)sucrose and induction of enzyme activities in the livers of rats were investigated. Adult male rats of BHE strain were refed after a fast of 2 days. The nutritionally complete refeeding diet contained 60% sucrose as the only source of car bohydrate. (U-14C)Sucrose was included in the diet on either day 1 or day 2, or both of refeeding. During the first day of refeeding, the radioactivity was incorporated mainly into liver glycogen which rose to over 100 mg/g. During the second day, little 14Cappeared in the liver glycogen, which de creased sharply while glucose-6-phosphatase activity increased. The glyco- genic pathway thus appeared to be blocked. On the other hand, 14Cincor poration in the liver fat was minimal during the first day, but was quite extensive during the second day of refeeding. The enhanced lipogenesis was accompanied by large increases of the activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and NADP-malic de- hydrogenase. Results clearly indicate that the carbohydrate load in the liver of intact animals was initially metabolized by the glycogenic path way. When glycogenesis stopped, carbohydrate was metabolized differently. The enhanced incorporation of (U-14C)sucrose into liver lipids indicates an increased formation of acetyl CoA and an accelerated formation and use of NADPH, probably from increasing dehydrogenase activities. Our data suggest that the blockage of synthesis of glycogen with the continuation of carbohydrate load was a primary cause in "over-shooting" induction of hepatic dehydrogenase activities and lipogenesis. J. Nutr. 106: 136- 141,1976.
Allergen Prick-Puncture Skin Testing in the Elderly

Many older patients present with rhinitis, conjunctivitis, asthma or itching that the patient attributes to allergies. Yet physicians often dismiss allergy in the elderly as irrelevant. Testing elderly patients for allergies is sometimes challenging as changes in the skin may cause difficulty in applying skin tests, and the response of the skin may be difficult to measure. The prick puncture skin test is the preferred method of immediate-type allergy testing, but careful examination of the skin prior to skin testing is important. If the area of skin where allergen skin tests are routinely placed is either atrophic or severely sun damaged, a sun-protected area should be sought. If no suitable area of skin can be identified, in vitro allergen testing should be considered. Skin-test results must be interpreted with care in the elderly. Positive skin tests to an allergen must correlate with a history of exacerbation to the allergen. By identifying specific allergens to which the elderly patient is sensitive, avoidance measures or specific allergen vaccination can be recommended, improving the quality of life and decreasing the need for medications.
Integrating social and biological research to improve men's and women's health.

The authors comment on two reports that address the gender health paradox. An integrated model of social and biological factors will yield information beneficial to both mens and womens health and reduce the gender disparities.
Optical Properties of Thin-Film SrTiO3 on Si Grown by MBE

Oxides with perovskite crystal structure such as SrTiO 3 are important candidates for ultrathin gate oxides because of their large DC dielectric constant. When SrTiO 3 is deposited directly on Si, an amorphous non-stoichiometric interfacial layer is usually formed during the later stages of growth, which reduces the specific capacitance and is therefore undesirable. We have performed deep-UV spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements from 0.7 to 6.6 eV of SrTiO 3 films grown on Si by MBE. This technique is very well suited to determine the thickness of SrTiO 3 films between 75 and 200 A. For thinner films, refractive index and thickness cannot be determined independently. Ellipsometry measures the total thickness (SrTiO 3 plus amorphous interfacial layer). There is no signature in the data that can be used to determine the SrTiO 3 and interfacial layer thicknesses independently. We find that the effective refractive index (averaged over the crystalline SrTiO 3 and the interfacial layer) decreases with decreasing thickness due to the increasing importance of the interfacial layer, but the overall critical-points due to interband transitions are not eliminated, therefore the electronic structure stays mostly intact.
Perfusion linearity and its applications in perfusion algorithm analysis

Perfusion analysis computes blood flow parameters (blood volume, blood flow, and mean transit time) from the observed flow of a contrast agent passing through the patient's vascular system. Perfusion deconvolution has been widely accepted as the principal numerical tool for perfusion analysis, and is used routinely in clinical applications. The extensive use of perfusion in clinical decision-making makes numerical stability and robustness of perfusion computations vital for accurate diagnostics and patient safety. The main goal of this paper is to propose a novel approach for validating numerical properties of perfusion algorithms. The approach is based on the Perfusion Linearity Property (PLP), which is fundamental to virtually all perfusion data processing. PLP allows one to study perfusion values as weighted averages of the original imaging data. This, in turn, uncovers hidden problems with the existing perfusion techniques, and may be used to suggest more reliable computational approaches and methodology.
The Effects of Principal Support on Special and General Educators' Stress, Job Satisfaction, School Commitment, Health, and Intent to Stay in Teaching:

THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO IDENTIFY SPECIAL AND GENERAL TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF PRINCIPAL SUPPORT. TEACHERS INDICATED THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY RECEIVED VARIOUS TYPES OF SUPPORT AS WELL AS THE IMPORTANCE OF EACH TYPE OF SUPPORT. WE ALSO INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF PERCEIVED PRINCIPAL SUPPORT ON TEACHER STRESS AND PERSONAL HEALTH, JOB SATISFACTION, SCHOOL COMMITMENT, AND INTENT TO STAY IN TEACHING. QUESTIONNAIRES INCLUDING MEASURES OF SUPPORT, STRESS, JOB SATISFACTION, SCHOOL COMMITMENT, PERSONAL HEALTH, AND INTENT TO STAY WERE RECEIVED FROM 385 SPECIAL AND 313 GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS IN VIRGINIA. GENERALLY, RATINGS OF SUPPORT WERE SIMILAR FOR GENERAL AND SPECIAL EDUCATORS. CROSS-VALIDATED REGRESSION RESULTS INDICATE THAT WORK-RELATED VARIABLES ARE BETTER PREDICTORS OF EXTENT OF SUPPORT THAN ARE DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES. FURTHER, SPECIFIC TYPES OF SUPPORT ARE SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS OF JOB SATISFACTION, SCHOOL COMMITMENT, AND PERSONAL HEALTH.
The film on substrate technique, rapid thermal characterization of the high thermal conductivity films

Lack of an efficient thermal management strategy and system can often lead to overall system failure in advanced microprocessors. This can be avoided by utilization of the high thermal conductivity materials, as heat spreader/sink, in compact packaging systems. The diamond-like dielectric materials such as diamond, silicon nitride (Si/sub 3/N/sub 4/), aluminum nitride (AlN), silicon carbide (SiC), etc, are the likely choices. However, thermal characterization of such high thermal conductivity material has proven to be challenging due to variations in fabrication process and therefore their microstructures as well as the practical difficulties in measuring small temperature gradients during the characterization process. In this paper, we will report a novel film on substrate technique that can be used conveniently for repeated measurements of the lateral thermal conductivity of the high thermal conductivity films, with thicknesses between 100 to 500 /spl mu/m.
Stripline Filters - An Overview

Stripline filters and the closely related microstrip filters are coupled transmission line networks which are fabricated using one of a number of "printed circuit" fabrication techniques. In order to understand the operation and parameters of stripline filters it is necessary to understand the fundamentals of single and coupled transmission line resonators. The fundamental properties of transmission line resonators are reviewed, and specific examples are given for typical stripline parameters. Basic relationships are given for the size, characteristic impedance, and
A measured approach to child health.

Abstract Children's health and its measurement have gained increasing attention in the face of advances in treating disease, and the growing recognition of long-term implications of child health for adult health and the nation's economy. Advances in measurement are aided by new conceptualizations, including a dynamic definition of child health and model of how it evolves. This paper discusses challenges in measurement of child health, the role of large-scale data sets, how to select a measure, 2 promising measurement frontiers, and the role of the Academic Pediatric Association in promoting a measured approach to child health.
RANDOMIZED STIMULATION SIGNAL DESIGN TO CREATE PARTIAL INFORMATIONAL LESIONS IN PARKINSONIAN NEURONAL NETWORKS

Deep brain stimulation is a treatment for Parkinson's disease that uses electrical stimulation to modulate neural activity in order to reduce motor symptoms associated with the disease. The design of the electrical stimulation signal used is strongly linked to the efficacy of such a treatment. We present computational models of the brain structures impacted by Parkinson's disease which are modulated by electrical current injections from chronically implanted electrodes as a part of deep brain stimulation. This work demonstrates that a high frequency signal with small random deviations in pulse timing can simultaneously induce regularized activity associated with improved motor symptoms and permit greater variation in neural responses, which are necessary to encode neural information.
ON THE ENERGY EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE BAROCLlNlC AND BAROTROPIC COMPONENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC FLOW

Abstract The energy conversion between the vertical shear flow and the vertical mean flow has been computed using atmospheric data from the isobaric surfaces: 850, 700,500, 300, and 200 mb. In comparison with earlier calculations based on a smaller vertical resolution (2 levels) and a smaller sample, it is found that the new calculations give larger numerical values in better agreement with the results of numerical experiments concerning the general circulation of the atmosphere. The energy transformation has been computed in the wave number regime, and it is found that the medium-scale waves are responsible for the major portion of the transformation. The amounts of energy in the baroclinic component (the vertical shear flow) and the barotropic component (the vertical mean flow) have been computed as a function of wave number. It is found that the kinetic energy in the barotropic component is about 2.6 times the kinetic energy in the baroclinic component. The partitioning of the kinetic energy between th...
Achieve Best Practice With an Evidence-Based Approach

Cynthia Latney is the director of the Cardiovascular Progressive Care Unit of Methodist Hospital, Houston, Tex. emulate the processes of best practice departments. Another important component of benchmarking is comparing a department or hospital to similar facilities and to regional and national benchmarks. Benchmarking customer satisfaction, staffing, and quality indicators are important goals for hospitals to achieve. A critical element of quality management programs, customer satisfaction impacts both business results and the community’s image of care quality. Care provision, staff courtesy, and availability drive patient satisfaction. Best practices to improve patient satisfaction include manager rounds, and measurable service standards. Staff satisfaction is equally important: If your caregivers don’t feel valued, your patients and their families won’t view your service positively. A popular staff assessment method involves having an outside vendor perform the survey, which ensures honest feedback. Survey results enable managers and staff to select several measurable improvement goals— both departmental and institutional. Successful progressive care units (PCUs) operate in a benchmarking, evidence-based practice environment, and maintain strong interdisciplinary teams to efficiently measure outcomes. Major health care agencies support this approach, including the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), which encourages organizations to evaluate themselves and perform activities using an interdisciplinary team approach. As addressed in the preceding articles of this 6-part series exclusively endorsed by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), measuring outcomes—such as decreased length of stay (LOS)—is critical to gaining staff support for implementing a PCU.
Pricing Equity Swaps

A two-factor, non-Markovian tree is developed to capture the institutional realities of the equity swap market. Extending Amin and Bodurtha (1995) and Amin (1991), we construct a computable expression for the price (fixed spread, FS) of a single-currency floating equity swap. We find: (1) the market price of the equity swap provides an independent measure for the implied volatility of stock index returns; (2) the fixed spread depends critically on the stock index price volatility but is nearly independent of both the level and the volatility of the interest rates. The critical implementation challenge is not in computation time but rather in dynamic memory allocation programming since we use the tree approach instead of Monte Carlo simulation. For a quarterly settled swap with three-year tenor, it takes just a few seconds of processing time on an IBM RS/6000. We compare equity swap prices under both fixed equiprobable and random datedependent martingale measures. The resulting prices are extremely close and approximately one-half the variance of stock index returns.
Evidence of Home Range of an Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin

An Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus (Montague), with a damaged dorsal fin was observed by the author on November 1, 1953, at approximately 0900 at Cedar Key, Florida. The healed injury, the absence of the upper two-thirds of the fin, served as a natural "tag" and permitted ready identification of this individual, even in the brief period of a normal breathing roll. This dolphin was again seen in mid-afternoon on January 24, 1954, and a third time at 1430 on March 20,1954. The first observation was made in the main ship channel between Atsena Otie and Grassy Keys, approximately 1600 yards SSW of the main pier. On the second observation, the dolphin was again in the main ship channel about 200 yards east of the main pier, and approximately 600 yards WSW of the pier in the same channel on the third sighting. Joining these reference points …
Bismuth-doped tin oxide-coated carbon nanotube network: improved anode stability and efficiency for flow-through organic electrooxidation.

In this study, a binder-free, porous, and conductive 3D carbon-nanotube (CNT) network uniformly coated with bismuth-doped tin oxide (BTO) nanoparticles was prepared via a simple electrosorption–hydrothermal method and utilized for the electrooxidative filtration of organics. The BTO-CNT nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, linear sweep voltammetry, and Tafel analysis. The submonolayer BTO coating is composed of 3.9 ± 1.5 nm diameter nanoparticles (NPs). The oxygen-evolution potential of the BTO-CNT nanocomposite was determined to be 1.71 V (vs Ag/AgCl), which is 440 mV higher than an uncoated CNT anode. Anodic stability, characterized by CNT oxidative corrosion to form dissolved species, indicated that the BTO-CNT incurred negligible corrosion up to Vanode = 2.2 V, whereas the uncoated CNT was compromised at Vanode ≥ 1.4 V. The effect of metal oxide-nanoparticle coating on anodic per...
Analysis of epidemic situation and characteristics of AIDS in Beihai city from 1998 to 2013

Objective To investigate the current epidemic situation and tendency of HIV infection in Beihai city from1998 to 2013, in order to provide information and strategies for prevention and control of AIDS. Methods The data of AIDS cases from national information system from 1998 to 2013 was analyzed by descriptive epidemiology. Results There were990 medical cases in Beihai city from 1998 to 2013 with 259 deaths; Most of the cases were young adults(75.96%);68.08% of them were aged 20~49 years; The main route of transmission was heterosexual transmission(73.03%), injecting drug transmission(19.09%), homosexual transmission(3.13%), mother-to-fetus transmission(1.21%).71.01% of them live in rural areas;79.43% of the cases were reported for the first time and diagnosed as AIDS patients, 65.63% of them died within a year of diagnosis. Conclusions The HIV epidemic showed annual upward trend in Beihai, the main route was sexual transmission, there existed late diagnosis; monitoring of high risk groups, expanding detection of HIV in rural areas and floating population be strengthened.
Early metabolic consequences of epidermal growth factor administration to neonatal rats.

Daily administration of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to neonatal rodents elicits a classic morphogenetic syndrome. In this study, we examined the early (minutes to hours) consequences of EGF treat...
A primer of abstract mathematics

1. Logic and foundations 2. Counting 3. Elementary number theory 4. Some highly informal set theory 5. Linear algebra 6. Theory of linear operators Appendix: an application of linear algebra.
Differential fMRI BOLD responses in amygdala in intermittent explosive disorder as a function of past Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract Background Individuals with intermittent explosive disorder (IED) were previously found to exhibit amygdala (AMYG) hyperactivation to anger faces during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, acute alcohol consumption, and/or life history of alcoholism, may blunt amygdala responses to negative emotional stimuli. Thus, we examined the influence of a past history of DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) on the fMRI BOLD AMYG response to anger faces in IED. Method Forty-two IED participants, 18 with a past history of AUD (IED+AUD) and 24 without Past AUD (IED), and 32 healthy control (HC) participants, underwent fMRI scanning while viewing blocks of angry, fearful, and happy faces. Results Compared to HC and IED+AUD participants, IED subjects exhibited greater AMYG responses to angry, but not to fear or happy, faces in the left AMYG. There were no group differences in responses to anger, fear, or happy, faces in the OFC. Conclusion These findings suggest the possibility of a longstanding effect of AUD on AMYG response in IED to anger-related stimuli and highlight the possibility that history of AUD should be considered as an important factor in the interpretation of fMRI studies involving the AMYG response to negative emotional stimuli.
Telerheumatology: A Systematic Review.

Objective: The aim of this systematic review was to identify and summarize the published and gray literature on the use of telemedicine for the diagnosis and management of inflammatory and/or autoimmune rheumatic disease. Methods: We performed a registered systematic search (CRD42015025382) for studies using the MEDLINE (1946-July 2015), Embase (1974-July 2015), Web of Science (1900-July 2015), and Scopus (1946-July 2015) databases. We included studies which demonstrated the use of telemedicine for diagnosis and/or management of inflammatory/autoimmune rheumatic disease. Following data extraction, we performed a descriptive analysis. Results: Our literature search identified 1,468 potentially eligible studies. Of these, 20 reports were ultimately included in this review. Studies varied significantly in publication type, quality of evidence, and the reporting of methods. Most demonstrated a high risk of bias. Rheumatoid arthritis was the most commonly studied rheumatic disease (42% of patients). Studies demonstrated conflicting results regarding the effectiveness of telemedicine (18 found it effective, one found it effective but possibly harmful, and one found it ineffective). A limited number of studies included some component of a cost analysis (n=6, 16% of patients); all of these found telemedicine to be cost-effective. Conclusion: Studies identified by this systematic review generally found telemedicine to be effective for the diagnosis and management of autoimmune/inflammatory rheumatic disease; however, there is limited evidence to support this conclusion. Further studies are needed to determine the best uses of telemedicine for the diagnosis and management of these conditions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Hypobaric versus isobaric spinal levobupivacaine for total hip arthroplasty.

Background Spinal anesthesia (SA) in the lateral decubitus position is often used to perform total hip arthroplasty (THA). Hypobaric local anesthetic ensures enhanced and prolonged sensory and motor block in the involved side. The aim of this study was to compare the intraoperative anesthetic efficacy of hypobaric with isobaric levobupivacaine solutions for THA. Methods Forty patients scheduled to elective THA were allocated into two groups: isobaric levobupivacaine group (IL group) and hypobaric levobupivacaine group (HL group). All the patients were placed with the operative side uppermost on the surgical table and spinal anesthesia was performed with 4 mL (12.5 mg) of selected solution. The evolution of sensory and block on nondependent (operative) and dependent sides were checked. Results Regarding the nondependent side the onset times for maximal sensory block level in the in HL group was 17.8±1.1 minutes vs. 24.2±4.1 minutes in IL group. In HL group the onset time for motor block was 9.2±3.5 minutes vs. 15.6±5.4 minutes in IL group. The sensory regression time to L2 was significantly prolonged in HL group (192±30.3 minutes vs. 111±13.4 min). After surgery in HL group the residual motor block degree was 2.4±0.9 vs. 0.2±0.4 in IL group. Conclusions In patients undergoing THA under spinal anesthesia 12.5 mg of hypobaric levobupivacaine, compared with the same dose of isobaric levobupivacaine, allow shorter onset time for sensory block and delayed regression of sensory and motor block in the nondependent side.
Exergaming to Improve Physical and Mental Fitness in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Pilot Study

C l i n M e d International Library Citation: Hilton CL, Attal A, Best JR, Reistetter TA, Trapani P, et al. (2015) Exergaming to Improve Physical and Mental Fitness in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Pilot Study. Int J Sports Exerc Med 1:017 Received: April 30, 2015: Accepted: August 22, 2015: Published: August 24, 2015 Copyright: © 2015 Hilton CL. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Hilton et al. Int J Sports Exerc Med 2015, 1:3
Abstract P283: Parkin Mediates Mitophagy in Cardioprotection

Autophagy-dependent mitochondrial turnover in response to cellular stress is necessary for maintaining cellular homeostasis. However, the mechanisms that govern the selective targeting of damaged mitochondria are poorly understood. Parkin, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, has been shown to be essential for the selective clearance of damaged mitochondria. Parkin is expressed in the heart, yet its function has not been investigated in the context of cardioprotection. We previously reported that autophagy is required for cardioprotection by ischemic preconditioning (IPC). In the present study, we used simulated ischemia in vitro and IPC in hearts (in vivo and ex vivo) to investigate the role of Parkin in mediating cardioprotection. In HL-1 cells, simulated ischemia induced Parkin translocation to mitochondria and mitochondrial elimination. Mitochondrial loss was blunted in Atg5-deficient cells, revealing the requirement for autophagy in mitochondrial elimination. Consistent with previous reports implicating p62/SQSTM1 in mitophagy, we found that downregulation of p62 attenuated mitophagy and exacerbated cell death in HL-1 cardiomyocytes subjected to simulated ischemia. While wild type mice showed p62 translocation to mitochondria after IPC, Parkin knockout mice exhibited attenuated translocation of p62 to mitochondria. Importantly, ablation of Parkin in mice abolished the cardioprotective effects of IPC. These results reveal for the first time the crucial role of Parkin and mitophagy in cardioprotection.
A graphical framework for assisting proofs

Theories in computer science, especially proofs, are a tough topic for the student. Most students feel great bewilderment when studying example proofs and writing their own proofs. In this short paper, we first identify some common problems that students face when dealing with proofs, then define a graphical framework for facilitating the reading and writing of proofs, next present some proof examples under this framework, and finally summarize what can be gained by this framework.
Summary of Results from the Telescope Array Experiment

The Telescope Array (TA) is the largest experiment in the northern hemisphere actively observing ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. TA is a hybrid detector system combining the precision of the air fluorescence technique with the efficiency of a surface scintillator array. Three fluorescence stations each view 108 in azimuth and up to 30 in elevation. They are located at the periphery of a ground array consisting of 507 plastic scintillator counters. The surface detectors are arranged in a square grid of 1.2km spacing, covering over 700 square kilometers. TA has now collected over seven years of data. We present the cosmic ray spectra from both TA and its low energy extension (TALE), covering a range of energies from below 10 16 eV to over 10 20 EeV. We also discuss the latest results from the measurements of mass composition by the TA group. Finally, we present our results from the search for arrival direction anisotropy, including the observed large excess of events at the highest energies, seen in the region of the northern sky centered on Ursa Major. Based on the current results, TA is vigorously pursuing expansion of our detectors to four times its current size.
Saving face on Facebook: privacy concerns, social benefits, and impression management

The nearly ubiquitous use of online social networks generally entails substantial personal disclosure and elicits significant privacy concerns. This research uses Social Exchange Theory and the imp...
Single-Arm Phase 2 Trial of Elective Nodal Dose Reduction for Patients With Locoregionally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Purpose To evaluate a novel chemoradiation therapy (CRT) regimen for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) incorporating a lower intensity modulated radiation therapy dose to electively treated neck lymph nodes than is currently standard. Methods and Materials Eligible patients had locally advanced SCCHN of the oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, or hypopharynx. The 7-week CRT course consisted of weekly cisplatin at 35 mg/m2 concurrently with sequential-boost intensity modulated radiation therapy: 36 Gy to high- and low-risk planning target volumes followed by a sequential boost to the high-risk planning target volume to 70 Gy. The primary endpoint was elective nodal failure. Secondary endpoints were survival, toxicity, feeding tube duration, and quality of life evaluated by the FACT-HN and QOL-RTI surveys. Results Between 2011 and 2014, 54 patients were enrolled, 31 (57%) of whom had human papillomavirus (HPV)–positive disease. Of the patients, 35 (65%) had stage IVa disease. The median follow-up period for survivors was 36 months (range, 12-66 months). Elective nodal failure did not develop in any patient. The actuarial 3-year survival rate for the entire cohort was 91% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.79-0.96); for the HPV-negative group, 85% (95% CI 0.61-0.95); and for the HPV-positive group, 96% (95% CI 0.77-0.99). Common grade 3 toxicities were dysphagia (79%), mucositis and/or stomatitis (41%), nausea (20%), xerostomia (13%), vomiting (11%), and neutropenia (10%). The median feeding tube duration was 142 days. Patient FACT-HN scores were higher at 3, 6, and 12 months versus at the end of treatment (P Conclusions This CRT regimen for patients with advanced SCCHN demonstrated the potential feasibility of reducing the elective dose to the neck, a topic that requires additional study in future clinical trials.
Identifying social factors that undermine support for nature-based coastal management

Human use and degradation of coastal ecosystems is at an all-time high. Thus, a current challenge for environmental management and research is moving beyond ecological definitions of success and integrating socioeconomic factors. Projects and studies with this aim, however, have focused primarily on monetary valuations of ecosystem functions, overlooking the behaviors and psycho-social motivations of environmental management. Using a nature-based salt marsh restoration project on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, we assess the role of human attitudes and preferences in evaluating social success for ecosystem management. We use structural equation modeling to compare the strengths of social variables in predicting restoration project support, and find public understanding to be a more important predictor than personal values. Our results show that even among stakeholders with strong pro-environmental values, a weak understanding of the management initiative can undermine support. We also find that project support does not necessarily translate to the prioritization of similar management strategies. Instead, when individuals consider overall management priorities, differences arise between particular resource user-groups. This suggests that strong public support for individual initiatives can misconstrue complexities in stakeholder preferences that emerge in more comprehensive management considerations. Future investigations of the psycho-social components of management solutions should address the potentially tiered nature of human preferences, as well as whether public perceptions of management effectiveness act as an additional context-dependency of social viability.
The Absence of Epistemology, or Drama and Divinity Before Descartes

There is very little sacred drama in post-Reformation England, but there are two popular Jacobean conversion plays (Massinger’s Renegado and Dekker and Massinger’s Virgin Martyr) first staged little more than a decade before Descartes’ Discourse on Method. As conversion dramas, these plays should (one would think) engage, however superficially, epistemic questions: for example, how do you know, or why do you believe, that there is a heaven? That the Bible is divinely revealed? It seems hard to imagine how these stagings of conversion could avoid such questions—and yet they do; and by so doing they allow us to see the conception of reason/belief/knowledge from which the ‘epistemic turn’ turned.
Pointwise circumscription: preliminary report

Circumscription is the minimization of predicates subject to restrictions expressed by predicate formulas. We propose a modified notion of circumscription so that, instead of being a single minimality condition, it becomes an "infinite conjunction" of "local" minimality conditions; each of these conditions expresses the impossibility of changing the value of a predicate from true to false at one point. We argue that this "pointwise" circumscription is conceptually simpler than the traditional "global" approach and, at the same time, leads to generalizations with the additional flexibility needed in applications to the theory of commonsense reasoning.
Metabolism of Sulfur-Containing Compounds

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the metabolism action of sulfur-containing compounds. The number and variety of the sulfur compounds found in nature are constantly being augmented by new discoveries. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that the transfer of energy from the high-energy phosphate bonds of ATP takes place through the agency of the SH group of CoA. The major primary sulfur compounds that have an established role in the normal biochemical processes of the vertebrate range in variety from the simple inorganic compounds to amino acids to betaine to vitamins, and to diverse other compounds of the nature of 2-mercapto-ethaneamine, lipoic, acid, taurine, and the thetins. The transsulfuration reaction by which cysteine is formed depends upon the condensation of homocysteine, the demethylated product of methionine, with serine to form the intermediate cystathionine.
El lactante hipotónico

E l tono es la resistencia de musculo al estiramiento. Los clinicos evaluan dos clases de tono: fasico y postural. El tono fasico es una contraccion rapida en respuesta al estiramiento de alta intensidad. La respuesta al reflejo tendinoso prueba el tono fasico. El golpeteo breve del tendon rotuliano estira el musculo cuadriceps. El aparato fusiforme, al detectar el estiramiento, envia un impulso a traves del nervio sensorial hasta la medula espinal. La informacion es transmitida a la neurona motora alfa, y el musculo cuadriceps se contrae (reflejo monosinaptico). El tono postural es la contraccion prolongada de los musculos antigravitatorios, en respuesta al estiramiento de baja intensidad causado por la fuerza de la gravedad. Cuando el tono postural esta deprimido, el tronco y los miembros no pueden sostenerse contra la gravedad, y el lactante aparece hipotonico.
Light as a modulator of emotion and cognition: Lessons learned from studying a diurnal rodent.

Abstract Light profoundly affects the behavior and physiology of almost all animals, including humans. One such effect in humans is that the level of illumination during the day positively contributes to affective well-being and cognitive function. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of daytime light intensity on affect and cognition are poorly understood. One barrier for progress in this area is that almost all laboratory animal models studied are nocturnal. There are substantial differences in how light affects nocturnal and diurnal species, e.g., light induces sleep in nocturnal mammals but wakefulness in diurnal ones, like humans. Therefore, the mechanisms through which light modulates affect and cognition must differ between the chronotypes. To further understand the neural pathways mediating how ambient light modulates affect and cognition, our recent work has developed a diurnal rodent model, the Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), in which daytime light intensity is chronically manipulated in grass rats housed under the same 12:12 hour light/dark cycle. This simulates lighting conditions during summer-like bright sunny days vs. winter-like dim cloudy days. Our work has revealed that chronic dim daylight intensity results in higher depression- and anxiety-like behaviors, as well as impaired spatial learning and memory. Furthermore, we have found that hypothalamic orexin is a mediator of these effects. A better understanding of how changes in daytime light intensity impinge upon the neural substrates involved in affect and cognition will lead to novel preventive and therapeutic strategies for seasonal affective disorder, as well as for non-seasonal emotional or cognitive impairments associated with light deficiency.
Using graphic warning labels to counter effects of social cues and brand imagery in cigarette advertising

Exposure to cigarette advertising can increase the likelihood of youth smoking initiation and may encourage people who already smoke to continue. Requiring prominent, graphic warning labels could reduce these effects. We test whether graphic versus text-only warning labels in cigarette advertisements influence cognitive and emotional factors associated with youth susceptibility to smoking and adult intentions to quit. We conducted two randomized, between-subjects experiments with middle-school youth (n = 474) and adult smokers (n = 451). Both studies employed a two (graphic or text-only warnings) by two (advertisements with social cues or brand imagery) factorial design with a fifth, offset control group (social cue advertisements with the current US Surgeon General's Warning). Graphic warnings outperformed text-only warnings in reducing visual attention to the advertisement, generating visual attention to the warning and arousing more negative affect. Graphic warnings also reduced the appeal of cigarette brands among youth relative to social cue advertisements with the Surgeon General's warnings. None of the warnings (graphic or textual) influenced health risk beliefs. Graphic warning labels on cigarette advertisements appear to have effects similar to those observed on cigarette packs in previous work, with an added benefit of reducing cigarette brand appeal among youth.
Endothelial nitric oxide synthase protein distribution and nitric oxide production in endothelial cells along the coronary vascular tree.

Abstract Objective Freshly isolated endothelial cells from both conduit arteries and microvasculature were used to test the hypothesis that eNOS protein content and nitric oxide production in coronary endothelial cells increases with vessel radius. Methods Porcine hearts were obtained from a local abattoir. Large and small arteries as well as arterioles were dissected free of myocardium and homogenized as whole vessels. Additionally, endothelial cells were isolated from both conduit arteries and left ventricular myocardium by tissue digestion with collagenase, followed by endothelial cell isolation using biotinylated-anti-CD31 and streptavidin-coated paramagnetic beads. Purity of isolated endothelial cells was confirmed by immunofluorescence and immunoblot. Results In whole vessel lysate, immunoblot analysis revealed that protein content for eNOS was greater in arterioles compared to small and large arteries. Nitric oxide metabolites (nitrite plus nitrate; NOx) levels measured from whole vessel lysate decreased as vessel size increased, with both arterioles and small arteries displaying significantly greater NOx content than conduit. Consistent with our hypothesis, both eNOS protein level and NOx were significantly greater in endothelial cells isolated from conduit arteries compared with those from coronary microvasculature. Furthermore, confocal microscopy revealed that eNOS protein was present in all conduit and microvascular endothelial cells, although eNOS staining was less intense in microvascular cells than those of conduit artery. Conclusions These findings demonstrate increased eNOS protein and NOx content in endothelial cells of conduit arteries compared with the microcirculation and underscore the importance of comparing endothelial-specific molecules in freshly isolated endothelial cells, rather than whole lysate of different sized vessels.
Adult Reports of Pokémon GO Play: Stronger Parasocial Relationships Predict Increased Nostalgia and Decreased App Play:

Lack of physical activity is often associated with electronic media use. However, augmented reality exergames require player movement, making them a potential health application (app). In the exerg...
Racial differences in inflammation and outcomes of aging among kidney transplant candidates

Inflammation is more common among African Americans (AAs), and it is associated with frailty, poor physical performance, and mortality in community-dwelling older adults. Given the elevated inflammation levels among end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, inflammation may be associated with adverse health outcomes such as frailty, physical impairment, and poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and these associations may differ between AA and non-AA ESRD patients. One thousand three ESRD participants were recruited at kidney transplant evaluation (4/2014–5/2017), and inflammatory markers (interleukin-6 [IL-6], tumor necrosis factor-a receptor-1 [TNFR1], C-reactive protein [CRP]) were measured. We quantified the association with frailty (Fried phenotype), physical impairment (Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB]), and fair/poor HRQOL at evaluation using adjusted modified Poisson regression and tested whether these associations differed by race (AA vs. non-AA). Non-AAs had lower levels of TNFR1 (9.7 ng/ml vs 14.0 ng/ml, p 0.9) and CRP (4.7 μg/ml vs 4.9 μg/ml, p = 0.4). Non-AAs had an increased risk of frailty with elevated IL-6 (RR = 1.58, 95% CI:1.27–1.96, p < 0.001), TNFR1 (RR = 1.60, 95% CI:1.25–2.05, p < 0.001), CRP (RR = 1.41, 95% CI:1.10–1.82, p < 0.01), and inflammatory index (RR = 1.82, 95% CI:1.44–2.31, p < 0.001). The associations between elevated inflammatory markers and frailty were not present among AAs. Similar results were seen with SPPB impairment and poor/fair HRQOL. Non-AAs with elevated inflammatory markers may need closer follow-up and may benefit from prehabilitation to improve physical function, reduce frailty burden, and improve quality of life prior to transplant.
Prognostic Value of HER2 to CEP17 Ratio on Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Ratio in Patients with Nonmetastatic HER2-Positive Inflammatory and Noninflammatory Breast Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy with or without Trastuzumab.

Background We previously reported that in patients with HER2-positive (HER2+) locally advanced breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant trastuzumab-containing regimens, high HER2 to centromere enumerator probe 17 ratio on fluorescence in situ hybridization (HER2 FISH ratio) was an independent predictor of high pathologic complete response (pCR) rate, which translated into improved recurrence-free survival (RFS). We sought to determine whether high HER2 FISH ratio is a predictor of pCR and prognosis in patients with HER2+ nonmetastatic inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and non-IBC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without trastuzumab. Materials and methods This study included all patients with histologically proven stage III, HER2+ primary IBC, and non-IBC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without trastuzumab and definitive surgery during 1999-2012. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were applied to assess the effect of covariates on pCR. Kaplan-Meier estimates with log-rank test were employed for survival analysis. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were used to assess the effect of covariates on RFS and overall survival (OS). Results The study included 555 patients with stage III, HER+ breast cancer, 181 patients with IBC, and 374 with non-IBC. In the IBC cohort, HER2 FISH ratio was not significantly associated with pCR, RFS, or OS. In the non-IBC cohort, higher HER2 FISH ratio was significantly associated with higher pCR rate and longer OS. Conclusion HER2 FISH ratio showed prognostic value among patients with HER2+ non-IBC but not HER2+ IBC treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This disparity may be due to the underlying aggressive nature of IBC. Implications for practice The findings of this study indicate that the HER2 to fluorescence in situ hybridization ratio as a continuous variable has promise as a predictor of pathologic complete response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with HER2-positive (HER2+) noninflammatory breast cancer (non-IBC) regardless of the results on HER2 immunohistochemical testing. In the future, some patients with HER2+ non-IBC and a high HER2 FISH ratio might even be offered personalized treatment options, such as nonsurgical treatment.
Grayscale Nanopixel Printing at Sub-10-nanometer Vertical Resolution via Light-Controlled Nanocapillarity

Nanotextures play increasingly important roles in nanotechnology. Recent studies revealed that their functionalities can be further enhanced by spatially modulating the height of their nanoscale pi...
High-Grade Tumors of the Brainstem (Except DIPG)

High-grade tumors of the brainstem in adults and children, excluding diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), are rare. In adults, these tumors are almost exclusively malignant gliomas, while in children approximately 60% are high-grade gliomas and 40% are embryonal tumors. In almost all cases, the most common presenting symptoms are cranial neuropathies, hemiparesis, and ataxia, typically of short duration. Imaging characteristics are similar to the corresponding histologic counterparts arising in other locations of the brain; however, diagnosis can only be made by histologic confirmation following biopsy. In the overwhelming majority of cases, at least surgical biopsy or partial resection can be performed, and this intervention is the first step in the treatment of these tumors. Unfortunately, these tumors are in general rapidly progressive and relatively refractory to multimodality therapy with surgery, irradiation, and chemotherapy. Radiation may provide a degree of tumor stabilization in some cases, but the efficacy of chemotherapy remains limited, and the overall prognosis is dismal, with most patients succumbing to their disease within a year. Ultimately, it is hoped that the unique genetic and molecular alterations of this diverse group of tumors in both adults and children will afford the opportunity for the development of targeted therapeutics for improved outcomes.