cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discrete Responses to Limitation for Iron and Manganese in Agrobacterium tumefaciens: Influence on Attachment and Biofilm Formation.

ABSTRACT Transition metals such as iron and manganese are crucial trace nutrients for the growth of most bacteria, functioning as catalytic cofactors for many essential enzymes. Dedicated uptake and regulatory systems have evolved to ensure their acquisition for growth, while preventing toxicity. Transcriptomic analysis of the iron- and manganese-responsive regulons of Agrobacterium tumefaciens revealed that there are discrete regulatory networks that respond to changes in iron and manganese levels. Complementing earlier studies, the iron-responsive gene network is quite large and includes many aspects of iron-dependent metabolism and the iron-sparing response. In contrast, the manganese-responsive network is restricted to a limited number of genes, many of which can be linked to transport and utilization of the transition metal. Several of the target genes predicted to drive manganese uptake are required for growth under manganese-limited conditions, and an A. tumefaciens mutant with a manganese transport deficiency is attenuated for plant virulence. Iron and manganese limitation independently inhibit biofilm formation by A. tumefaciens, and several candidate genes that could impact biofilm formation were identified in each regulon. The biofilm-inhibitory effects of iron and manganese do not rely on recognized metal-responsive transcriptional regulators, suggesting alternate mechanisms influencing biofilm formation. However, under low-manganese conditions the dcpA operon is upregulated, encoding a system that controls levels of the cyclic di-GMP second messenger. Mutation of this regulatory pathway dampens the effect of manganese limitation. IMPORTANCE Responses to changes in transition metal levels, such as those of manganese and iron, are important for normal metabolism and growth in bacteria. Our study used global gene expression profiling to understand the response of the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens to changes of transition metal availability. Among the properties that are affected by both iron and manganese levels are those required for normal surface attachment and biofilm formation, but the requirement for each of these transition metals is mechanistically independent from the other.
Pyrolysis analysis of the herbicide paraquat on cannabis by coupled gas chromatography-infrared spectroscopy.

The recent furor over paraquat contamination of Mexican marijuana imported into this country has involved some controversy over how much of the herbicide survives pyrolysis in marijuana cigarettes and how much danger the unknown amount of paraquat poses to the Cannabis smoker [1–5]. While much is known about the pulmonary toxicity of ingested paraquat [6–9], little is known about the toxicity of inhaled paraquat, and even less about the physiological activity of its pyrolysis products.
A model of the dynamics of cowbirds and their host communities

Few studies have examined the potential consequences of cowbird (Molothrus spp.) parasitism on entire avian communities. Because cowbirds are host generalists, an obvious opportunity exists for such community-level effects. We developed a model to predict how cowbird abundance affects and is affected by the relative abundances of different types of host species. Toward this end, we divided the passerine hosts of cowbirds into three categories, each having different population dynamic properties: (1) ejectors of cowbird eggs; (2) extinction-prone acceptors of cowbird eggs (species that decline in abundance in response to high levels of cowbird parasitism); and (3) insensitive acceptors of cowbird eggs (species that maintain their abundance even at high levels of cowbird parasitism). Ejectors are sinks for cowbird eggs and thus indirectly benefit extinction-prone hosts. Conversely, insensitive acceptors can raise cowbird young without a concomitant decrease in their own abundance; as such, they indirectly harm extinction-prone species. Although cowbird abundance is determined by the abundance of both ejectors and insensitive acceptors, the reverse is generally not true (i.e. their abundance is independent of cowbird abundance). The mathematical model of cowbird/host community dynamics we present consists of two ordinary differential equations that incorporate the above assumptions about the different classes of hosts and the manner in which they interact with cowbirds. The model predicts that extinction-prone species will have a higher potential to persist when one or more of the following exist: (1) ejectors are relatively more abundant than insensitive acceptors; (2) ejectors are abundant relative to extinction-prone carrying capacity; (3) maximum potential cowbird per-capita population growth rate is small; and (4) the potential effect of cowbirds on extinction-prone population growth rate is small. Extinction-prone species will decline or go extinct in reverse situations.
Endogenous triglyceride and glycogen in perfused rat hearts.

SummaryMobilization of endogenous lipid and glycogen by the isolated rat heart in vitro has been studied under a variety of conditions. Recirculating perfusion of hearts with Krebs bicarbonate buffer (45 min) led to a marked depletion (66%) of cardiac glycogen, while cardiac triglyceride was decreased by 24%. There were no changes in the levels of phospholipid, diglyceride, cholesterol ester, or free fatty acid. After perfusion for 90 min, in the absence of added substrates, endogenous glycogen and triglyceride were depleted to 16% and 38%, respectively, of the levels in the unperfused controls. During this second 45-min period of perfusion, a small but significant depletion of phospholipid also occurred, indicating that this lipid class is only used for energy after marked depletion of the other endogenous energy sources.Perfusions with epinephrine (10–5M) or dibutyryl adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (dibutyryl-cAMP) for 45 min produced marked decreases in the levels of cardiac glycogen and triglyceride, b...
Development of Communities of Practice in School Library Education.

To properly prepare pre-service school librarians, school library educators in online courses must provide opportunities for collaborative engagement. This collaborative education should also recognize the pedagogical benefit of the organic formation of communities of practice that develop within areas outside of curriculum content. This examination of Communities of Practice seeks to understand the influence a change in the learning context of today’s digital courses has on these communities of practice for School Librarians. Findings address how different course structures promote a sense of belonging, organized along Wenger’s (1998) three modes of belonging: Engagement, Alignment, and Imagination. How these modes of belonging facilitate the development of a community of practice among students in an online, introductory school library course is also explored. The role of LIS educators in developing collaborative practices in their students is discussed, especially for students studying in an online environment.
Interstitial fluid pressure in intestinal submucosa of dogs in endotoxin shock.

Summary1) The tissue pressure in the intestinal submucosa of the dog is significantly increased during the portal hypertensive phase and during the later stages following administration of a 1 mg/kg dose of E. colt endotoxin. 2) The change in submucosal tissue pressure is less for an equal or greater rise in portal vein pressure due to obstructive elevation of this pressure than during the portal hypertensive period of endotoxin shock.
Immunologic, Chemical and Isotopic Identification of G14-Labeled Bacterial Polysaccharide in Animal Tissues.∗:

SummaryPolysaccharide isolated from encapsulated Klebsiella pneumoniae, type B, has been found to consist of glucose, glucuronic acid and rhamnose. C14 was incorporated biosynthetically into these 3 components from acetate- 1-C14 added to the media. Following injection of the C14-labeled polysaccharide into animals, up to 80% of the labeled material has been recovered from animal tissue by a combination of enzymatic and extractive procedures. Much of the C14-la-beled material in tissue retained its original haptenic properties and relative C14 content of the constituent monosaccharides.
On the Root of Inharmony——on the problem of agricultural labor transfer

This paper expatiates on the concepts of agricultural industry and non-agricultural industry and points out that there are natural rules for labor force allocation and the allocating structure of social labor force among different industries depend on the levels of productivity development;analyzes the two big mis- carriages in macro labor force allocation since the founding of New China and concludes that the significant differences in income allocation basically result from the differences in posts of employment.If miscarriages in labor force allocation are eliminated,posts of employment are adapted to the qualities of employees and the society can become harmonious.
Influence of crystalloid versus colloid infusion on peripartum colloid osmotic pressure changes.

Plasma colloid osmotic pressure acts to retain fluid in the intravascular space. Intravenous crystalloids have been identified as one of the major factors contributing to the consistent peripartum decline in colloid osmotic pressure. This study was undertaken to compare the effect of two crystalloid infusions (1000 and 2000 mL Plasma-Lyte A) and a colloid infusion (1000 mL 5% albumin) on the peripartum colloid osmotic pressure. Before elective cesarean section, 45 parturients received one of the three infusions. The lowest mean maternal colloid osmotic pressure (16.6 +/- 1.1 mmHg, P less than .05 compared with baseline) occurred in the 2000-mL crystalloid infusion group eight to 16 hours postpartum. Although the colloid osmotic pressure fell in all groups postpartum, this reduction was significantly (P less than .05) less during the first 24 hours in the colloid infusion group. Minimizing this disruption of the colloid osmotic pressure to pulmonary capillary wedge pressure gradient may be clinically important in selected patients.
Involvement of ceramide in inhibitory effect of IL-1 beta on L-type Ca2+ current in adult rat ventricular myocytes

Interleukin (IL)-1 beta has previously been shown to decrease the L-type Ca2+ channel current (ICa,L). Because ceramide has been suggested to mediate many biological effects of IL-1 beta, we examined whether ceramide was involved in the IL-1 beta-induced suppression of ICa,L in adult rat ventricular myocytes. Exposure of myocytes to 5 ng/ml IL-1 beta elicited a 140% increase in ceramide production within 2 min, as measured with 32P phosphorylation. Whole cell patch-clamp techniques were used to measure ICa,L in myocytes internally dialyzed and externally perfused with Na(+)- and K(+)-free solutions. C2 ceramide (1 nM-1 microM), a membrane-permeable analog of ceramide, caused a concentration-dependent inhibition of ICa,L and increased the rate of ICa,L inactivation without altering its gating properties. An inactive ceramide analog failed to inhibit ICa,L. At submaximal concentrations, effects of C2 ceramide and IL-1 beta on ICa,L were additive and saturable. In the presence of a maximally effective concentration of IL-1 beta, C2 ceramide had no further effect on ICa,L. These results suggest that ceramide mediates IL-1 beta-induced suppression of cardiac ICa,L.
Mitogenic inhibition by phorbol esters is associated with decreased phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase activation

In contrast to their role as potent tumor promoters, phorbol esters can cause inhibition of cell growth. Because the effect of phorbol esters occurs through activation of protein kinase C (PKC) and because activated PKC is translocated to the membrane placing it in a position to act on the intracellular portion of the growth factor receptor, we asked whether this inhibitory effect is mediated through the action of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on receptor association with the signal transfer proteins. When added to rat vascular smooth muscle (VSM) cells concurrently with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), PMA at 100 ng/ml completely inhibits bFGF-stimulated DNA synthesis. Under the same growth-inhibitory conditions of PMA addition, aggregation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) to the fibroblast growth factor receptor and tyrosine phosphorylation of the 85-kDa regulatory component of the signal transfer protein PI3K are reduced by 94 and 79%, respectively. PI3K catalytic activity, as measured by conversion of phosphatidylinositol to phosphatidylinositol 3-phosphate, is decreased 88% by PMA addition. This effect is not specific to PI3K, since aggregation of phospholipase C-gamma 1 to the activated bFGF receptor is also decreased by PMA treatment. In addition, the PI3K inhibitor wortmannin markedly attenuates bFGF-stimulated VSM cell growth in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that the site of growth inhibition by PMA in VSM cells lies upstream of signal transfer particle aggregation and that such growth arrest may be mediated through inhibition of activation of PI3K.
The Value of Computerized Tomography in Evaluation of Pelvic Lymph Nodes

AbstractTo assess the accuracy of computerized tomography in the preoperative detection of pelvic lymph node enlargement we evaluated prospectively 23 patients with potentially resectable cancer of the prostate. Subsequent staging pelvic lymphadenectomy revealed falsely negative studies in 7 patients and a falsely positive study in 1. The inaccuracy of computerized tomography mitigates against its use as a preoperative staging modality and confirms the value of pelvic lymphadenectomy as a means of detecting pelvic lymph node enlargement in patients with cancer of the prostate.
Management of Perioperative Hypertension

In this chapter we focus on the management of the patient with chronic hypertension that persists despite control of acute postoperative pain. There is increasing recognition of the prevalence of isolated systolic (wide pulse pressure) hypertension and its implications for myocardial oxygen imbalance and adverse perioperative outcome in older patients. Antihypertensive agents can be classified into two broad groups: those with predominantly vasodilator effects (nitric oxide donors, direct arterial dilators, dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors) and those with negative inotropic and chronotropic effects (beta-blockers, alpha–beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers). We discuss the pharmacology, clinical application, and appropriate selection of these agents in the control of perioperative hypertension.
Sparse signal recovery based on nonconvex entropy minimization

We propose a new sparsity-promoting objective function to be used in sparse signal recovery. Specifically, the objective is an entropy function &#x1D459;1 defined on the sparse signal x. Compared to the conventional &#x1D459;1, it is a nonconvex function and the optimization problem can be solved based on the fast iterative shrinkage thresholding algorithm (FISTA). Experiments on 1-dimensional sparse signal recovery and 2-dimensional real image recovery show that minimizing &#x1D459;p favors sparse solutions, and that it could recover sparse signals better than the convex &#x1D459;1 norm minimization and the nonconvex l p -norm minimization.
Teratogenic Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs

Data from 5 prospective European studies totaling 1,221 children exposed to antiepileptic drugs (AED) during pregnancy and 158 children of unexposed control pregnancies were analyzed to quantify the risk of major congenital malformations (MCM) and are reported from University Medical Centers in Rotterdam and Heemstede, The Netherlands; Berlin and Magdeburg, Germany; and Helsinki, Finland.
Birth Injuries in Neonates

1. Gangaram Akangire, MD* 2. Brian Carter, MD*,† 1. *Division of Neonatology, Children’s Mercy Hospital-Kansas City, MO 2. †Department of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO 1. Clinicians should understand the outcome of birth-related extracranial and intracranial injuries and the most appropriate time of intervention. 2. Clinicians should understand the outcome of long bone fractures that occur during the birth process. 3. Clinicians should understand when to consult with neurosurgery when faced with a depressed skull fracture after a birth and be familiar with clinical outcomes. 4. Clinicians should understand the outcome of facial nerve injury and brachial plexus injury resulting from birth trauma. 5. Clinicians need to understand the medicolegal implications of birth injuries and the importance of careful documentation. After completing this article, readers should be able to: 1. Discuss delivery conditions that increase the risk of birth injuries. 2. List favorable and unfavorable outcomes following birth injuries. 3. Describe common birth injuries and delineate current evaluation and management from the general pediatric practitioner’s perspective. 4. Focus on emergency situations that involve traumatic bleeding; nerve injury; and fractures of the skull, clavicles, and long bones that require urgent assessment and intervention. Birth injury is defined as the structural destruction or functional deterioration of the neonate’s body due to a traumatic event at birth. Some of these injuries are avoidable when appropriate care is available and others are part of the delivery process that can occur even when clinicians practice extreme caution. Amniocentesis and intrauterine transfusions can cause injuries before birth, and these and any injuries that occur following neonatal resuscitation procedures are not considered birth injuries. However, injuries occurring from fetal scalp electrodes and intrapartum heart rate monitoring are considered birth injuries. Over the past 20 years, the number of deaths due to birth injuries has declined such that they no longer are …
Low Dose Warfarin Is Effective Prophylaxis Against Deep Vein Thrombosis Following Total Hip Arthroplasty.

Thromboembolic disease (TED) including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolus (PE) remain major complications following total hip arthoplasty. Warfarin is an important pharmacologic prophylaxis against these complications. How to optimally use warfarin remains a sourse of debate. This retrospective patient report extends eariler observations that low dose warfarin is effective prophylaxis against symptomatic thromboembolic disease. Patients planned for elective unilateral total hip replacement were given 1 mg of warfarin for 7 days prior to surgery. Patients were excluded from this regimen if they had a coagulopathy, platelet count less than 140,000/mm3, previous TED, cancer, or were in need of long term anticogulation for other reasons. Prothrombin times were measured on the morning of surgery. The night following surgery they were prescribed variable dose warfarin which was continued while in hospital, with target INR 1.5–2.0. They were discharged to rehabilitation centers or home taking 1 mg daily until their 4–6 week followup visit. All patients received post-operative pneumatic compression stockings, followed by elastic compression stockings when ambulatory. Patients were encouraged to begin isometric exercises immediately after surgery and were mobilized on day 1 or 2 following surgery. Hospital and clinic charts for 13 months of consecutive patients were reviewed for any evidence of TED. Auxiliary data basis were probed for any additional evidence of TED, including the hospital logs of Radiology Department, Orthopedic Department Morbidity and Mortality rounds, Adverse Events, Medical Records Department, and Case Management. There were 833 primary and 170 revision total hip athroplasties. Of the 1003 patients studied, 3 had TED (0.3%, 95% CI 0.0–0.6), including 2 with DVT and l with nonfatel PE. The followup rate was 98.9%, with 11 patients lost to follow-up. Complications from the warfarin were minimal. The prothrombin times on the morning of surgery were below INR 1.4 for 98.9% of the patients. Two patients with INR greater than 1.49 on day of surgery received fresh frozen plasma. Seven patients had post-operative wound hematomas, one of which had INR greater than 1.5. Very low warfarin when started preopartively, continued as variable dose in the immediate postoperative period, and continued at 1 mg until the patient is fully ambulatory, combined with the mechanical tools listed, is effective and safe prophylaxis against TED.
Rehousing a ‘Working Collection’: Perspectives from the Johns Hopkins University Archaeological Museum

Using the Johns Hopkins Archaeological Museum (JHAM) as a case study, this article explores the unique approaches used to rehouse a collection with a core teaching mission. Unlike the collections of more traditional museums, the JHAM's holdings are meant to be used by students, faculty, and researchers as a means of pursuing knowledge. Supporting this pedagogical mission requires innovative rehousing approaches that protect the collection while ensuring its use. This paper discusses recently implemented rehousing strategies that emphasize high visibility, ease of accessibility, and guided handling of objects, and considers the unique challenges and advantages of providing access to such a collection. Rehousing is also posited as only one aspect of collections care; rather, the authors propose that a more holistic approach to the long-term preservation of objects in the museum's care encompasses not only their physical stability through rehousing and conservation, but also the stability and stewardship of ...
A study of chloroplast biogenesis within variegated mutants of Arabidopsis

immutans (im) is a recessive Arabidopsis mutant that is involved in chloroplast biogenesis. In the absence of IMMUTANS (IM) green and white leaf sectors form. This thesis is concerned with the development of these green and white sectors and the methods used to investigate the mechanism of their formation. IM resides in the chloroplast thylakoid membrane and has been implicated in the adjustment of electron flux through the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Without IM white sector formation occurs due to the inability of im to produce colored carotenoids. It is still a mystery as to how green sectors are able to form in the absence of IM. This thesis presents im as a developmental chloroplast defect and discusses the need for IM very early in plastid development. The requirement for IM most likely starts within progenitor plastids known as proplastids.
Upper Eyelid Dermatosis Syndrome

Eyelid dermatitis and dermatosis are not uncommon causes of dermatologic referral. The cause of these syndromes is often multivariate. With time and patience, the systemic approach provided in this article simplifies management for patient and physician.
Comparing heuristic, evolutionary and local search approaches to scheduling

The choice of search algorithm can play a vital role in the success of a scheduling application. In this paper, we investigate the contribution of search algorithms in solving a real-world warehouse scheduling problem. We compare performance of three types of scheduling algorithms: heuristic, genetic algorithms and local search. Additionally, we assess the influence of heuristics on search performance and check for bias induced by using a fast objective function to evaluate intermediate search results.
Abstract 14423: Toll-like Receptor 3 Activation of Cardiosphere-Derived Cells (TLR3-CDCs) Amplifies Myocyte Regeneration and Reverses LV Remodeling in Swine With Ischemic Cardiomyopathy

Introduction: Intracoronary cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs) administered to patients with myocardial infarction improves regional function through an effect that is secondary to the release of pa...
SmartCast: An Incentive Compatible Consensus Protocol Using Smart Contracts

Motivated by the desire for high-throughput public databases (i.e., “blockchains”), we design incentive compatible protocols that run “off-chain”, but rely on an existing cryptocurrency to implement a reward and/or punishment mechanism. Our protocols are incentive compatible in the sense that behaving honestly is a weak Nash equilibrium, even in spite of potentially malicious behavior from a small fraction of the participants (i.e., the BAR model from Clement et al. [7]). To show the feasibility of our approach, we build a prototype implementation, called SmartCast, comprising an Ethereum smart contract, and an off-chain consensus protocol based on Dolev-Strong [10]. SmartCast also includes a “marketplace” smart contract that randomly assigns workers to protocol instances. We evaluate the communication costs of our system, as well as the “gas” transaction costs that are involved in running the Ethereum smart contract.
Novel Method for PIK3CA Mutation Analysis: Locked Nucleic Acid–PCR Sequencing

Somatic mutations in PIK3CA are commonly seen in invasive breast cancer and several other carcinomas, occurring in three hotspots: codons 542 and 545 of exon 9 and in codon 1047 of exon 20. We designed a locked nucleic acid (LNA)-PCR sequencing assay to detect low levels of mutant PIK3CA DNA with attention to avoiding amplification of a pseudogene on chromosome 22 that has >95% homology to exon 9 of PIK3CA. We tested 60 FFPE breast DNA samples with known PIK3CA mutation status (48 cases had one or more PIK3CA mutations, and 12 were wild type) as identified by PCR-mass spectrometry. PIK3CA exons 9 and 20 were amplified in the presence or absence of LNA-oligonucleotides designed to bind to the wild-type sequences for codons 542, 545, and 1047, and partially suppress their amplification. LNA-PCR sequencing confirmed all 51 PIK3CA mutations; however, the mutation detection rate by standard Sanger sequencing was only 69% (35 of 51). Of the 12 PIK3CA wild-type cases, LNA-PCR sequencing detected three additional H1047R mutations in "normal" breast tissue and one E545K in usual ductal hyperplasia. Histopathological review of these three normal breast specimens showed columnar cell change in two (both with known H1047R mutations) and apocrine metaplasia in one. The novel LNA-PCR shows higher sensitivity than standard Sanger sequencing and did not amplify the known pseudogene.
Using and Influence Level of Information to Explain the Non-consensus Process Loss

Much of the Group Support System (GSS) literature comparing GSS groups with manual groups has produced contrarian results. One of the more confusing is that GSS groups have a higher level of non-consensus than manual groups. Lack of consensus in GSS groups is considered to be a negative aspect of GSS. This paper argues that low levels of consensus are not necessarily harmful and should be expected given the assumptions about GSSs. This study uses an alternate measure to compare face-to-face groups with GSS groups; an influence level of information. Experimental results using an influence level of information show no difference between face-to-face group members and GSS group members. We discuss these implications, as well as additional directions for further consensus research.
Opioid Antagonists and Ethanol's Ability to Reinforce Intake of Alcoholic Beverages: Preclinical Studies

A review of preclinical research leading to the use of opioid antagonists as medicines for alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence is presented. There is also a discussion of the how studies using laboratory animals can address many of the remaining issues associated with using drugs to treat alcohol use disorders. The case is made that recent findings associated with the development of opioid antagonists as medicines for alcoholism provides a revolutionary approach to treating alcoholism (and drug addiction, in general). The actualization of the prospects provided by the revolutionary approach is apt to yield the first truly effective treatments for alcoholism.
Butanol production by hypersolvent-producing mutant Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 in corn steep water medium containing maltodextrin

Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 parent strain and BA101, a hypersolvent-producing mutant, fermented 6% (w/v) glucose, maltodextrin, maltose or xylose in a medium containing corn steep water (CSW) to produce butanol. Batch fermentation in an unoptimized 6% (w/v) maltodextrin plus 1.6% solids CSW medium demonstrated that C. beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 and BA101 produced 10.7 g butanol/L and 14.5 g butanol/L, respectively.
Relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and difficulty of anesthesia induction in children undergoing tonsillectomy

Abstract Objective To determine whether anesthesiologists need to rely on polysomnography (PSG) when predicting need for airway intervention during induction in patients with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). Methods Prospective case-control observational study at a tertiary care pediatric hospital. Children between the ages of 2–17 undergoing tonsillectomy were divided into three groups: those presenting with OSA observed by history and/or physical examination alone (SDB; n = 33), those with OSA determined by preoperative PSG (OSA; n = 32), and a control group (n = 35) undergoing tonsillectomy for recurrent tonsillitis. An anesthesiologist ranked each case on the level of intervention required to maintain ventilation. Results Age, height and BMI were associated with greater induction difficulty (r's > .225, p's 10 correlated with increased level of intervention during induction (r = .228, p = .022). Race was also associated with AHI >10 (odds ratio = 3.859, 95% CI = 1.485, 10.03, p = .006). Conclusion Children with OSA undergoing tonsillectomy require more airway intervention during induction than children with recurrent tonsillitis. Age and BMI were correlated with greater induction difficulty, suggesting that PSG data should be considered in light of these clinical characteristics to ensure an optimal postoperative course for children undergoing tonsillectomy.
Nanoparticle injector for photonic manipulators using dielectrophoresis

We describe the concept of a dielectrophoretic nanoparticle injector and its use in a plasmonic/photonic-based nanoparticle manipulation system. Particle motion is achieved by generating an electrostatic, non-uniform field between two tilted plates and applying the corresponding dielectrophoretic force to net-neutral nanoparticles. We investigate the dependence the dielectrophoretic force has on the plate angle of the charged plates as well as their separation distance, dielectric filler material, and exit interface membrane. Our results indicate an increasing average and maximum dielectrophoretic force attainable in the axial direction with corresponding decreasing plate angle and gap distance. The model also predicts larger field variation and deviation from the average with smaller plate angle and gap distance. Lastly, we conclude that the nanoparticles must be suspended in a dielectric medium with permittivity greater than their own permittivity so that their net motion is outward through the exit interface membrane and into the manipulator system.
Cryptococcus Infections in Transplant Recipients

Cryptococcosis is the third most common invasive fungal infection among solid organ transplant recipients but has been reported very rarely in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. Pulmonary cryptococcal disease is the most common clinical presentation, and the central nervous system involvement is the most common extrapulmonary site. Diagnosis is confirmed by isolation of the fungus from culture samples and measuring cryptococcal antigen in various body fluids including serum and CSF; histologic evidence of dimorphic fungi in tissue samples may provide a clue to the etiology and in most instances is not required to confirm the diagnosis. Depending on disease severity and extent of infection, treatment consists of lipid formulations of amphotericin B plus flucytosine, and/or fluconazole. Reduction in immunosuppression should also be attempted in transplant recipients with acute cryptococcal infection. However, attempts in rapid reduction of immune suppression may theoretically place patients at risk for cryptococcal immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome. In this chapter, a comprehensive review of cryptococcal disease is presented in context of patients undergoing solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Comparison of Medical Student Learning Styles and Exam Performance in an Integrated Curriculum

There has been an emphasis on the implementation of self-directed learning in medical education. Kolb’s experiential learning theory could be a useful framework in curriculum development. During the 2016–2017 academic year, participants completed the learning styles inventory. Percent time dedicated to lecture, laboratory, small groups, modules, simulations, and exams was collected along with participant academic performance. Findings showed that the curriculum delivery accommodated Assimilators and Convergers, with Convergers primarily outscoring the other categories. Although efforts emphasized self-directed learning, the curriculum is still delivered by lectures. Based on Kolb’s theory, lecturing benefits Converger and Assimilator learning styles.
Increased uterine artery blood flow in hypoxic murine pregnancy is not sufficient to prevent fetal growth restriction

Incomplete maternal vascular responses to pregnancy contribute to pregnancy complications including intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and preeclampsia. We aimed to characterize maternal vascular dysfunction in a murine model of fetal growth restriction as an approach toward identifying targetable pathways for improving pregnancy outcomes. We utilized a murine model of late-gestation hypoxia-induced IUGR that reduced E18.5 fetal weight by 34%. Contrary to our hypothesis, uterine artery blood flow as measured in vivo by Doppler ultrasound was increased in mice housed under hypobaric hypoxia (385 mmHg; 5500 m) vs normoxia (760 mmHg; 0 m). Using wire myography, uterine arteries isolated from hypoxic mice had similar vasodilator responses to the two activators A769662 and acetylcholine as those from normoxic mice, although the contribution of an increase in nitric oxide production to uterine artery vasodilation was reduced in the hypoxic vs normoxic groups. Vasoconstrictor responses to phenylephrine and potassium chloride were unaltered by hypoxia. The levels of activated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) were reduced with hypoxia in both the uterine artery and placenta as measured by western blot and immunohistochemistry. We concluded that the rise in uterine artery blood flow may be compensatory to hypoxia but was not sufficient to prevent fetal growth restriction. Although AMPK signaling was reduced by hypoxia, AMPK was still receptive to pharmacologic activation in the uterine arteries in which it was a potent vasodilator. Thus, AMPK activation may represent a new therapy for pregnancy complications involving reduced uteroplacental perfusion.
Outcomes in Primary CNS Lymphoma Post BEAM Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation: A Single-Center Analysis.

Background Primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) is a variant of NHL, involving the brain, leptomeninges, spinal cord, and/or the eyes without any evidence of systemic disease. Optimal therapy in PCNSL is yet to be determined. High dose methotrexate (HD-MTx) forms the mainstay of treatment. Consolidation strategies include radiation, non-myeloablative chemotherapy or myeloablative chemotherapy followed by stem cell rescue (ASCT). Thiotepa-based conditioning is preferred for ASCT based on evidence of superiority over BEAM conditioning. These studies however, are small in size and mostly single center. Typical drug costs for thiotepa exceed $100,000 and may be 3-4 times that of BEAM. We describe our experience at the Mayo Clinic of PCNSL patients who underwent BEAM conditioning. Methods We identified patients with a diagnosis of PCNSL that received BEAM conditioning for ASCT. Baseline characteristics were collected. All the patients were diagnosed before the year 2010 (thiotepa based conditioning preferred clinical practice after). MRI brain before transplant and day +100 were reviewed, and disease status was categorized based on international PCNSL collaborative group consensus (IPCG) guidelines. Overall survival (OS) from the time of diagnosis was estimated using the Kaplan Meier method and compared using the Log-Rank test. Results 25 patients with PCNSL underwent BEAM conditioning for ASCT. The median age at diagnosis was 50 (26-67) years. There was slight male preponderance (n =15; 60%); 22 (88%) had diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with 1 case each of PTCL-NOS, HGBL-NOS, and ALK-negative ALCL. All patients received HD-MTx, and since ASCT consolidation was not standard practice at the time, some patients also received rituximab (n =9), temozolomide (n =5) and radiation therapy (n = 3). Median time to transplant from diagnosis was 6 (2-73) months. 76% patients had achieved CR (n =18) or CRU (n =1) before transplant and 24% (n = 6) had partial response. Day +100 MRI evaluation demonstrated findings consistent with progressive disease in 20% (n = 5). These were patients not in CR prior to ASCT. Median OS for the entire cohort was 144 months (Figure 1). There was a statistically significant difference in OS based on remission status prior to transplant; median OS was 164 vs 31 months (p Discussion BEAM conditioning resulted in a prolonged median OS, especially in the patients achieving CR prior to transplant. Although thiotepa-based regimens are currently preferred over BEAM conditioning for ASCT, there are significant financial implications. There remains a need for more robust clinical trial data comparing the efficacy and safety between these alternative regimens and their pharmacoeconomic impact.
Attribution Analysis of Grammatical Dependencies in LSTMs.

LSTM language models have been shown to capture syntax-sensitive grammatical dependencies such as subject-verb agreement with a high degree of accuracy (Linzen et al., 2016, inter alia). However, questions remain regarding whether they do so using spurious correlations, or whether they are truly able to match verbs with their subjects. This paper argues for the latter hypothesis. Using layer-wise relevance propagation (Bach et al., 2015), a technique that quantifies the contributions of input features to model behavior, we show that LSTM performance on number agreement is directly correlated with the model's ability to distinguish subjects from other nouns. Our results suggest that LSTM language models are able to infer robust representations of syntactic dependencies.
Friends with Benefits

Friends with benefits relationships (FWBRs) represents a relationship where partners (who do not identify their relationship as romantic) engage in repeated sexual interactions. This relational hybrid attempts to combine the safe environment (i.e., closeness and trust) of a friendship with the access to sexual interaction characteristic of a romantic relationship. Although communicative rules of friendship imply openness between partners, communication about the FWBR (especially discussion of emotions such as love and jealousy) are typically frowned upon. Research suggests that considerable variety characterizes FWBRs in terms of how well partners know each other as well as their partners' romantic motivations and feelings. Thus, FWBRs are very complex and heterogeneous. Keywords: casual sex; dating; emotion; heterosexuality; sexual behavior
State-of-the-art methods for overcoming temperature polarization in membrane distillation process: A review

Abstract Membrane distillation (MD) technology has been mainly used as a treatment method for saline or contaminated wastewater. Despite the rapid progress in material engineering and design of novel MD systems, principal challenges as temperature polarization (TP) and high-energy consumption per unit of produced water still restrict its commercialization. Recently, TP mitigation has been addressed by modification and configuration of MD systems or by using advanced materials for membrane fabrication. These include coating thermally conductive or photonic nanomaterials on the membrane's surface or using thermally conductive metallic based membranes that impact heat dispersion along the membrane. In addition, frame-like turbulence promoters and modified feed channels were shown to lower TP by enhancing the characteristics of the feed flow. Finally, systems able to directly heat the membrane's surface without preheating the feed solution, including solar, Joule, and induction heating, were shown effective in eliminating TP due to the higher temperature at the membrane-water interface in comparison to the temperature of the bulk feed solution. The review aims to summarize recent advances made in TP mitigation for MD systems and assess their influence on distillation efficiency. We include a brief description of the TP phenomenon and its observed effects on MD and describe advanced MD processes from the aspects of low or negligible TP, high distillate flux, and improved energy efficiency.
Stat5B is required for IgE-Mediated mast cell function in vitro and in vivo.

Mast cells are found primarily at interfaces with the external environment, where they provide protection from pathogens but also elicit allergic inflammation. Mast cell activation by antigen-induced aggregation of IgE bound to the high affinity receptor, FceRI, is a critical factor leading to inflammation and bronchoconstriction. We previously found that Stat5 is activated by FceRI and that Stat5B suppression decreased IgE-induced cytokine production in vitro, but in vivo responses have not been assessed. We now show that Stat5B-deficient (KO) mice have reduced responses to IgE-mediated anaphylaxis, despite normal mast cell tissue distribution. Similarly, Stat5B KO mast cells have diminished IgE-induced degranulation and cytokine secretion in vitro. These mice have elevated IgE production that is not correlated with an intrinsic B cell defect. The current work demonstrates that the Stat5B isoform is required for normal mast cell function and suggests it limits IgE production in vivo.
A survey of cyber-physical system implementations of real-time personalized interventions

Advances in sensor technology and machine learning as well as the widespread use of smartphones are shifting the focus of healthcare. Emerging paradigms such as cyber-physical systems (CPSs) make possible the transition from reactive to preventive care. CPSs can be implemented to achieve effective mobile health solutions and to provide sophisticated new mechanisms to monitor an individual’s state in real-time via the use of sensors and mobile devices. Despite the significant potential impact of such systems, their implementation poses a range of complex technical challenges. This article surveys the state-of-the-art in implementations of CPSs for real-time personalized interventions. A general three layer architecture which can be used to consider current implementations is first presented along with a description of its main components. We also propose a three level taxonomy in accordance with the system capabilities. Then, the principal technical challenges, human-machine interaction challenges and future directions are discussed. Fifteen of the state-of-the-art implementations are qualitatively evaluated in terms of sensor capabilities, just-in-time reaction, interruptibility, and adherence, among other characteristics. By reviewing the state-of-the-art of the systems that have been built to-date, the focus of the review is to summarize current technical challenges and future opportunities for both future CPS implementers and behavioral scientists designing CPS for personalized interventions.
Manager's influence on the registered nurse and nursing assistant relational quality and patient safety culture.

AIMS The purpose of this study is to describe the perceptions of relational quality of the registered nurse and nursing assistant and examine how their view of the manager's influence impacts overall patient safety culture of a unit. BACKGROUND The primary delivery of nursing care within acute care systems uses teams of registered nurses and nursing assistants. METHODS A cross-sectional secondary analysis of data collected in the spring of 2018 using the Agency for Healthcare and Quality Hospital Survey of Patient Safety Culture and a seven-item questionnaire measuring relational quality was conducted. The sample included 1,152 responses. RESULTS The manager influenced overall perceptions of safety regardless of the relational quality between the registered nurse and nursing assistant. CONCLUSIONS This study found manager behaviours that promote patient safety and also influence overall perceptions of patient safety culture regardless of the relational quality between the registered nurse and nursing assistant. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT Positive registered nurse and nursing assistant relational quality amplifies perceptions of patient safety culture, yet it is the manager's behaviours regarding safety that make the stronger contribution in building a culture of safety.
Increased Risk of Second Primary Malignancy and Mortality at ten Years After Stem Cell Transplant for Multiple Myeloma: An Analysis of 14,532 Patients.

Background The landscape for patients with multiple myeloma has improved dramatically over the last 15 years. Immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMiDs) have shown great efficacy in both the setting of initial therapy and as maintenance after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT). Concern has arisen, however, regarding the risk of second primary malignancies (SPMs) that appear to be associated with the use of IMiD agents. SPMs are a known sequela of multiple myeloma treatment, particularly as a consequence of maintenance lenalidomide status-post stem cell transplant (SCT). The benefit of SCT has become less clear with the utilization of newer, more effective initial therapies. Objectives To determine the effect of SCT on SPM risk and overall survival in multiple myeloma patients at 5 and 10 years after treatment initiation. Methods We used TriNetX, a global federated health research network providing access to electronic medical records (diagnoses, procedures, medications, laboratory values, genomic information) from approximately 58 million patients in 49 large healthcare organizations. We created two patient cohorts who had all received treatment with thalidomide, lenalidomide, or pomalidomide. One cohort had received SCT while the other had not. Both cohorts were then analyzed for the development of all non-myeloma malignancies which occurred at least one year after initiation of treatment. Results At 5 years, SPMs were 5.8% more likely in patients who received stem cell transplant (22.4% vs 16.6%, RR 0.741, p value <0.0001) but 5-year survival favored transplanted patients by 2.38% (64.85% vs 62.474%, p value 0.0044). 10-year survival favored patients who did not receive transplant by 1.44% (42.279% vs 40.838%, p value 0.0279). The Kaplan-Meier curves cross at year 6. Conclusions It has previously been shown that the use of alkylating agents in myeloma patients significantly increases the risk of SPM, but that difference had curiously not been shown to have a negative impact on survival. Our analysis shows that this negative survival impact does exist but requires six or more years of follow up to become evident. Recent analyses from studies using older regimens show no overall survival benefit from the use of stem cell transplant. As non-transplant regimens become more effective at producing minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity, it seems that transplantation for myeloma patients will soon be regarded as unnecessary or even detrimental.