cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ancillary techniques on direct-smear aspirate slides

Numerous cytologic techniques aimed at effectively acquiring patient material for molecular testing have been proposed. Such techniques are becoming ever more important in an age of personalized medicine. In this commentary, the authors explored some more commonly proposed techniques to aid in the molecular testing of cytologic specimens. These techniques include the use of cell blocks, direct cytologic smears, filter paper storage, frozen samples, and enriched cellular techniques such as ThinPrep and cytospin preparations. Direct-smeared slides demonstrate excellent preservation of DNA, are easy to prepare, and are amenable to immediate adequacy at the time of the fine-needle aspiration (FNA) procedure as well as effective subsequent tumor purity estimation. Cell block methods cannot be assessed at the time of FNA and often demonstrate insufficiency, whereas filter paper and frozen techniques do not allow for the direct assessment of the presence and purity of tumor cells in the sample. Direct-smeared slides are emerging as the most effective preparation and storage medium of cytologic material to be used for molecular testing. Their cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and reliability have cemented them as the optimal solution for cytopathologists to fulfill the role of providing advanced molecular testing on patient samples. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Risk of incident clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease–type dementia attributable to pathology-confirmed vascular disease

Abstract Introduction The presence of cerebrovascular pathology may increase the risk of clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods We examined excess risk of incident clinical diagnosis of AD (probable and possible AD) posed by the presence of lacunes and large infarcts beyond AD pathology using data from the Statistical Modeling of Aging and Risk of Transition study, a consortium of longitudinal cohort studies with more than 2000 autopsies. We created six mutually exclusive pathology patterns combining three levels of AD pathology (low, moderate, or high AD pathology) and two levels of vascular pathology (without lacunes and large infarcts or with lacunes and/or large infarcts). Results The coexistence of lacunes and large infarcts results in higher likelihood of clinical diagnosis of AD only when AD pathology burden is low. Discussion Our results reinforce the diagnostic importance of AD pathology in clinical AD. Further harmonization of assessment approaches for vascular pathologies is required.
Structural dynamics and DNA interaction of human TFIID

TFIID is a large protein complex required for the recognition and binding of eukaryotic gene core promoter sequences and for the recruitment of the rest of the general transcription factors involved in initiation of eukaryotic protein gene transcription. Cryo-electron microscopy studies have demonstrated the conformational complexity of human TFIID, where one-third of the mass of the complex can shift its position by well over 100 A. This conformational plasticity appears to be linked to the capacity of TFIID to bind DNA, and suggests how it would allow both the recognition of different core promoter elements and the tuning of its binding affinity by regulatory factors.
Introductory Aspects of Crisis Intervention and Trauma Counseling

Although the ancient Chinese developed a character for the word “crisis” by combining pictographs of both “danger” and “opportunity,” clearly demonstrating their understanding of its potential for both negative and positive outcomes, the formal recognition of crisis intervention as a clinical specialty by the American Psychological Association did not occur until 1989.
Star Trek and False Infinities

Star Trek, through fictional narrative, conveys what is the prime philosophical debate of the modern era. On the one hand, there is Karl Marx and his prominent revolutionary acolyte, Leon Trotsky (with Star Trek’s creators making direct reference to both Marx and Trotsky—as noted in Chapter 4). On the other hand, there is Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, Carl Schmitt, and Leo Strauss. To invoke Star Wars, these latter thinkers represent the “Dark Side” of the “Force.” Or in Hegelian terms, they represent false infinities. Put differently, Star Trek warns that to pursue the philosophical ideation set out by Nietzsche et al. is to engage racism, xenophobia, and ultimately the end of human civilization.
SUSY-ẽ ± /μ∼ ± studies

The e+e−→l+l− mode has the discovery potential for SUSY-leptons and allows the determination of the LSP and SUSY-lepton masses. This study looks at the practical issues regarding the mode, such as background rejection, efficiency of cuts, both in the classical and neural network approaches.
A Discrete-Time Feedforward-Feedback Compensator for Real-Time Hybrid Simulation

Real-Time Hybrid simulation (RTHS) is a powerful experimental technique which provides engineers the opportunity of performing cost-effective dynamic tests for large or full scale structures. To carry out a successful RTHS test, the time delay, which is mostly associated with the servo-hydraulic actuator dynamics, needs to be reduced by an appropriate compensator. Model-based feedforward compensators are designed based on the dynamic model of the plant, including both the servo-hydraulic actuator and the specimen attached to it. This dynamic model may not represent the plant accurately during the RTHS, especially when the specimen behaves nonlinearly during the test. As a result, the feedforward compensator/controller which is designed based on this plant model may not work effectively. In this paper, a discrete time feedback controller is introduced, in addition to the feedforward compensator, to provide robustness to the delay compensation. Both numerical and experimental studies will be conducted. The performance of this feedforward-feedback compensator is evaluated through the actuator time delay and the relative Root-Mean-Square (RMS) error between the desired and measured actuator displacement.
How Dangerous Is Hyperkalemia

Hyperkalemia is a potentially life-threatening electrolyte disorder appreciated with greater frequency in patients with renal disease, heart failure, and with use of certain medications such as renin angiotensin aldosterone inhibitors. The traditional views that hyperkalemia can be reliably diagnosed by electrocardiogram and that particular levels of hyperkalemia confer cardiotoxic risk have been challenged by several reports of patients with atypic presentations. Epidemiologic data demonstrate strong associations of morbidity and mortality in patients with hyperkalemia but these associations appear disconnected in certain patient populations and in differing clinical presentations. Physiologic adaptation, structural cardiac disease, medication use, and degree of concurrent illness might predispose certain patients presenting with hyperkalemia to a lower or higher threshold for toxicity. These factors are often overlooked; yet data suggest that the clinical context in which hyperkalemia develops is at least as important as the degree of hyperkalemia is in determining patient outcome. This review summarizes the clinical data linking hyperkalemia with poor outcomes and discusses how the efficacy of certain treatments might depend on the clinical presentation.
Abstract TP239: Improving Door-To-Needle Time With Direct Pharmacy Ordering Process

Background: Efficient emergency department (ED) code stroke processes lead to improved door-to-needle (DTN) times for the administration of IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for qualifying acute ischemic stroke (AIS) patients. A code stroke initiation in the ED activates a cascade of actions involving multiple steps and can result in variations of processes, consequently leading to delayed treatment. Hypothesis: We sought to implement an efficient, standardized tPA ordering method, called Direct Pharmacy Ordering Process (DPOP), as part of our code stroke process to improve DTN times. Methods: A retrospective review of 401 records from our internal code stroke database was completed prior to and post implementation (June, 2013 to December, 2013 and April, 2014 to April, 2015, respectively) of DPOP. DPOP allows the ED physician to call for tPA directly to the pharmacist, who then calculates dosage, mixes and dispenses the medication. Charts were reviewed for patients’ time of ED arrival, time of CT scan results, time of tPA orders, and time of tPA administration. Inclusion criteria: AIS patients for whom an ED code stroke was initiated and who received tPA. Exclusion criteria: code strokes initiated after hospital administration, ED code stroke patients not receiving tPA, and patients receiving tPA but for whom process times could not be determined. Results: After applying criteria, a total of 46 patients’ records were included (16 pre-DPOP and 30 post-DPOP). There was a substantial reduction in all turn-around-times when pre-DPOP and post-DPOP data were compared. Mean time from CT results to time pharmacy received tPA requests decreased from 38 minutes to 17; mean time from CT results to administration of tPA, decreased from 52 minutes to 36, with a decreased median time from 54 minutes to 34. Additionally, DPOP eliminated illegible orders and orders with omissions, further improving timeliness. Conclusion: We implemented an improvement process for ordering IV tPA that led to substantial reductions in time for our code stroke process. Additionally, DPOP eliminated problems inherent to written prescriptions, thus leading to reductions in median time of tPA administration from the time of reported CT results by >20 minutes for most AIS cases receiving tPA.
Circularly-polarized horn antennas for terahertz communication using differential-mode dispersion in hexagonal waveguides

In this work, we present a class of circularly polarized (CP) horns that are scalable to sub-mm-wave and terahertz bands. The presented design utilizes a hexagonal waveguide, that is hollow and can be easily fabricated in these bands, as opposed to traditionally used waveguide partitions. We demonstrate the proposed design using a WR-8 (90–140 GHz) horn showing 18 dBi gain with 37% 3dB axial-ratio (AR) bandwidth. Design-optimization, fabrication steps and measurement results are presented in the paper.
Influence of Injection Drug Use-Related HIV Acquisition on CD4 Response to First Antiretroviral Therapy Regimen Among Virally Suppressed Individuals.

Background The inflammatory effects of injection drug use (IDU) may result in an impaired immune response to antiretroviral therapy (ART). We examined CD4 response to first ART regimen among individuals in routine HIV care, stratified by IDU-related HIV acquisition. Setting Cohort study including patients who initiated ART between 2000 and 2015 in the Johns Hopkins HIV Clinic. Methods We followed individuals from ART initiation until death, loss to follow-up, loss of viral load suppression ( 350). Results Of 1244 patients initiating ART, 30.4% were IDU. Absolute CD4 cell difference at the 50th percentile comparing IDU with non-IDU was -25 cells [95% confidence interval (CI): -63 to 35], -66 cells (95% CI: -141 to 16), and -91 cells (95% CI: -190 to -5) at 2, 4, and 6 years after ART initiation, respectively. Results were similar (non-IDU with slightly higher CD4 count, but not statistically significant differences) at other percentiles and stratified by baseline CD4. Conclusions CD4 recovery after ART initiation was similar for IDU and non-IDU, conditional on consistent viral load suppression.
Abstract LB-204: Results of a Phase 3 trial evaluating safety and efficacy of specific immunotherapy, recombinant idiotype (Id) conjugated to KLH (Id-KLH) with GM-CSF, compared to non-specific immunotherapy, KLH with GM-CSF, in patients with follicular non-Hodgkin's lymph

LB-204 Abstract LB-140 was submitted as a Late-Breaking Abstract and is embargoed until the time of presentation. The complete abstract will be posted to this site at or after the following date and time: 4/14/2008 9:15 AM.
PERMEN KP NO.21/PERMEN-KP/2015 TENTANG KEMITRAAN PENGELOLAAN KAWASAN KONSERVASI PERAIRAN

Pada 26 Juni 2015, Peraturan Menteri Kelautan dan Perikanan RI No. 21 PermenKP/2015 (“Permen KP No.21/2015”) tentang Kemitraan Pengelolaan Kawasan Konservasi Perairan diundangkan, delapan tahun setelah dimandatkan. Peraturan ini merupakan peraturan pelaksana dari ketentuan Pasal 18 ayat (2) Peraturan Pemerintah No. 60 Tahun 2007 tentang Konservasi Sumber Daya Ikan. Pasal 18 ayat (1) menetapkan bahwa dalam pengelolaan kawasan konservasi perairan, Pemerintah atau Pemerintah Daerah dapat “melibatkan” masyarakat. Pelibatan masyarakat ini dilakukan melalui kemitraan antara unit organisasi pengelola dengan kelompok masyarakat dan/atau masyarakat adat, lembaga swadaya masyarakat, korporasi, lembaga penelitian, maupun perguruan tinggi. Munculnya peraturan ini telah membawa ragam reaksi dan ekspektasi dari berbagai kalangan, terutama dalam kaitannya dengan perwujudan konservasi yang merangkul, bukan menyingkirkan masyarakat. Tulisan ini bermaksud menginformasikan materi muatan Permen 21/2015, dengan potensi maupun kekurangannya, agar masyarakat dapat semaksimal mungkin mengawasi dan mengambil bagian dalam pelibatan masyarakat dengan kemitran KKP. Tulisan ini tidak dimaksudkan untuk secara mendalam membedah pemaknaan kemitraan dalam hubungannya dengan teori pelibatan masyarakat.
Polymer molecular weight alters properties of pH-/temperature-sensitive polymeric beads.

Purpose. To study the physical and release properties of different molecular weight (MW) pH- and temperature-responsive statistical terpolymers and beads of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), butyl-methacrylate (BMA) and acrylic acid (AA).
Seismic Isolation Development in U.S.: Case Studies

This section describes the development and application of seismic (or base) isolation in the United States. Significant strides have been made in the implementation of the technology. This is attributed to recent advances in seismic isolation hardware and the removal of a number of impediments, which delayed widespread implementation in the near past.
Virus-Immune T Cells and Monoclonal Antibodies in the Mouse Influenza Model

Evidence has been accumulating over the past 10 years that a major factor in recovery from most acute virus infections is the cellular immune response mediated by T cells which are, when tested in vitro, cytotoxic for virus-infected target cells (reviewed in 1 and 2). The recent development of techniques for producing theoretically unlimited amounts of virus-specific monoclonal antibodies has raised the possibility that such reagents may prove to be of great therapeutic value (3,4). We wish to summarize here our current understanding of the possible interactions between monoclonal antibodies and virus-immune T cells in the influenza model. It will be obvious to the reader that these experiments are still at a very early stage, though some useful insights are emerging.
Interactions of Estrogens, Protooncogenes and Growth Factors

The uterus contains EGF receptors and these are regulated in vivo by estrogens. This regulation occurs at the transcriptional level, at least in part. Treatment of immature rats with estradiol also increases uterine levels of several nuclear protooncogenes including c-fos and c-myc. Considerable evidence suggests that this regulation occurs via interaction of occupied tissue estrogen receptors with an estrogen responsive element located in the 5’ upstream region of the fos gene. Based on these results and the work of other laboratories, we propose an overall model for the estrogen control of uterine growth which is similar to the competence/progression model of growth postulated for cultured fibroblasts. In this model the induction of nuclear protooncogenes, which presumably serve as transcription factors, and peptide growth factors/receptors are two distinct mechanisms for amplifying the signal resulting from the interaction of estrogen with its cognate receptor.
The Interaction of Lanthanides with Amino Acids and Proteins

Because Ca2+ is such a recalcitrant ion, Ln3+ ions have found extensive use as informative substituents with which to investigate various structural and functional aspects of the Ca2+-binding sites on proteins. The chemical principles upon which this strategy rests are discussed in Chapter 2. In some cases, lanthanides have served to report on the binding sites of other metal ions, such as Fe3+ in transferrin (Section 4.8) and ferritin (Section 4.8), Mn2+ in pyruvate kinase (Section 4.24) and gluta-mine synthetase (Section 4.25), or Mg2+ in pyruvate kinase (Section 4.24) and alkaline phosphatase (Section 4.25). Lanthanides have also provided useful information about proteins, such as lysozyme (Section 4.7), which are not thought to interact specifically with Ca2+, or any other metal ion, under physiological conditions. In addition, chemical modification of a protein can be used to introduce specific, strong binding sites for Ln3+ ions (e.g., Marinetti et al., 1976; Leung and Meares, 1977; Bradbury et al., 1978; Walter et al., 1981).
Catheter Ablation and Mortality in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Trials

Background Heart failure (HF) in the presence of atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with worse outcomes including increased mortality risk. Catheter ablation (CA) is an increasingly used method of rhythm control in patients with AF. Most of the randomized clinical trials (RCT) evaluating CA in patients with AF and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) were small, limiting their ability to draw conclusions. Recent multicenter RCTs have shown CA in patients with AF and LVSD to reduce mortality, and rates of hospitalization for worsening HF. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of CA in patients with AF and LVSD. Methods We conducted a systematic review of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central databases, in addition to a manual search, for RCTs employing CA in patients with AF and LVSD. Statistical analysis was performed with random-effects model. Mortality was the primary outcome whereas unplanned hospitalizations, HF readmissions, change in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and freedom from AF at follow-up were secondary outcomes. Results Seven publications met our inclusion criteria, which included a total of 846 patients for analysis (429 in CA arm and 427 in control arm). Compared to control, CA significantly reduced mortality [odds ratio (OR): 0.46; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29–0.72; P Conclusion Catheter ablation in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure results in reduced mortality and heart failure readmissions.
Using Compiler Directives for Performance Portability in Scientific Computing: Kernels from Molecular Simulation

Achieving performance portability for high-performance computing (HPC) applications in scientific fields has become an increasingly important initiative due to large differences in emerging supercomputer architectures. Here we test some key kernels from molecular dynamics (MD) to determine whether the use of the OpenACC directive-based programming model when applied to these kernels can result in performance within an acceptable range for these types of programs in the HPC setting. We find that for easily parallelizable kernels, performance on the GPU remains within this range. On the CPU, OpenACC-parallelized pairwise distance kernels would not meet the performance standards required, when using AMD Opteron “Interlagos” processors, but with IBM Power 9 processors, performance remains within an acceptable range for small batch sizes. These kernels provide a test for achieving performance portability with compiler directives for problems with memory-intensive components as are often found in scientific applications.
Functional sympatholysis is impaired in end-stage renal disease

Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) have decreased exercise capacity and exercise intolerance that contribute to cardiovascular risk. One potential mechanism underlying exercise intoleranc...
The Physiology of Peace and Coriolanus

Written in the midst of the eight-year Jacobean Peace (1604–1612), Coriolanus turns the physiology of war and peace inside out. “No body can be healthfull without Exercise, neither Naturall Body, n...
Housing Boom, Mortgage Default and Agency Friction

The housing prices and the mortgage debt witnessed faster growth than GDP in the run-up of the Great Recession. I document a mortgage market puzzle during the boom period: (1) the mortgage risk measured by the ex post delinquency increased, but (2) the mortgage spread decreased. The default premium alone cannot explain the decreasing mortgage spread in the boom episode. I develop a dynamic general equilibrium model of the housing and the mortgage markets with borrowers, depositors, and intermediaries to explain the empirical fact. The model features the tightness of the lending condition and the mortgage risk as the aggregate shocks, which generate the time-varying liquidity and default premiums in the mortgage spread. I quantify the contribution of the aggregate risks to the boom-bust dynamics before and after the Great Recession. A plausible size of the income shock alone is insufficient to generate the observed movement in the mortgage spread. The model shows that the lending relaxation that eases the leverage constraint of an intermediary leads to the increasing mortgage credit and the decreasing mortgage spread in the boom period. The lending condition shock generates pro-cyclical leverage of intermediaries that amplifies the aggregate shocks in the boom-bust dynamics.
Interleukin-2 and interleukin-2 receptor gamma gene polymorphisms, cigarette smoking, and risk of squamous cell cervical cancer

4384 Background: Cigarette smoking is a major cofactor for human papillomavirus (HPV) induced invasive squamous cell cervical carcinoma (SCC). Cell-mediated immune suppression has been hypothesized as a mechanism of smoking-related carcinogenesis, and may be a particularly important pathway in SCC due to the known susceptibility of immunosuppressed women to oncogenic HPV. Interleukin-2 (IL-2) acts in an autocrine manner to promote the differentiation and proliferation of T-lymphocytes (critical players in the cell-mediated immune response), but cigarette smoking may inhibit secretion of IL-2 by these cells, potentially dampening the overall cell-mediated immune response. We hypothesized that nucleotide variation in the IL-2 gene (IL2) and a major component of its receptor, the IL-2 receptor gamma gene (IL2Rγ), interacts with cigarette smoking to increase SCC risk. Methods: We conducted a case-only study, consisting of 261 SCC cases aged 18-74 years, diagnosed between 1986 and 2004, who were identified from the Cancer Surveillance System of Western WA and recruited into an ongoing case-control study of anogenital cancers. We genotyped the cases for four tagSNPs in IL2 and two tagSNPs in IL2Rγ. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the smoking-gene interaction effect were estimated for each tagSNP using logistic regression. In addition, 113 population-based controls were genotyped to test the assumption of independence of cigarette smoking and the tagSNPs in the general population (a critical requirement for a valid case-only analysis). Results: We found evidence of a statistically significant interaction between cigarette smoking and two IL2 SNPs. Current smokers were more than twice as likely to be homozygous for the synonymous SNP of exon 1 (rs2069763) variant allele (TT versus GG), OR=2.39; 95% CI=1.03-5.57; and former or non-smokers were almost twice as likely to be heterozygous for the intronic SNP (rs2069778) variant allele (CT versus CC), OR=1.93; 95% CI=1.02-3.64. There was suggestive evidence of an interaction between current cigarette smoking and homozygosity for an IL2 promoter SNP that has been shown to enhance production of IL-2 in vitro (rs2069762, OR=1.89; 95% CI=0.75-4.76). One IL2 SNP (rs2069777) could not be studied due to lack of independence with smoking among controls. There was no evidence of interactions between IL2Rγ polymorphisms and smoking. Conclusion: Relatively little is known about the mechanism by which cigarette smoking increases risk of SCC, or the role of host genetic factors and SCC, despite the large public health burden of this cancer. Our data suggest that a combination of IL2 nucleotide variation and cigarette smoking contributes to excess SCC risk beyond that expected based on a multiplicative model, and point to one possible pathway through which tobacco use and HPV jointly influence the pathogenesis of anogenital cancers.
Who’s to Blame?: Chivalric Projection and the Gender of Guilt

To what extent did chivalry promote a power difference between the sexes? In romantic works of medieval English literature, knights are commonly seen to project their values onto a female counterpart, which consequently leads them to pin their narrative successes or failures onto that person. This article examines “Le Roman de Tristan” and “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” under the framework Stephen Ahern presents in “Listening to Guinevere”. The chivalric Tristan idolizes his beloved Ysolt to the point of delusion, causing him to condemn her when she fails to meet his unrealistic expectations, and thus to illustrate the temperamental nature of the relationship between knight and lady. “Sir Gawain” complicates the issue, as Gawain lacks the expected devotion to a lady. Using Amy S. Kaufman and Michelle Sweeney’s models of the configuration of power as lenses, I analyze Lady Bertilack’s manipulation of Sir Gawain’s chivalric values, and his resulting display of frustration towards himself, as a critique of gendered morals. By comparing these knights and their respective treatments of failure, I argue that the chivalric code’s inconstant values ultimately encourage its followers to see any female-encoded morals, whether external or internal, as the cause of knightly failure. Faculty Sponsor: Elizabeth Tavares
The impact of perivesical lymph node metastasis on clinical outcomes of bladder cancer patients undergoing radical cystectomy

Perivesical lymph nodes (PVLNs) are occasionally isolated during grossing of cystectomy specimens. However, the prognostic implications of the involvement of PVLNs in bladder cancer patients, especially those with comparisons to pN0 disease, remain poorly understood. A retrospective review identified 115 radical cystectomy cases where PVLNs had been histologically assessed. These cases were then divided into 4 groups – Group 1 (n = 76): PVLN-negative/other pelvic lymph node (non-PVLN)-negative; Group 2 (n = 5): PVLN-positive/non-PVLN-negative; Group 3 (n = 17): PVLN-negative/non-PVLN-positive; and Group 4 (n = 17): PVLN-positive/non-PVLN-positive. pT stage at cystectomy was significantly higher in Group 3 (P = 0.013), Group 4 (P < 0.001), Groups 2 and 4 (P < 0.001), or Groups 2–4 (P < 0.001) than in Group 1. However, the number of positive PVLNs (mean: 1.8 vs. 2.1; P = 0.718) or the rate of extracapsular extension in the PVLNs (40% vs. 65%, P = 0.609) was not significantly different between Group 2 and Group 4. Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test revealed significantly (P < 0.05) higher risks of disease progression (Group 3/Group 4), cancer-specific mortality (Group 2/Group 3/Group 4), and overall mortality (Group 4), compared with Group 1. Multivariate analysis further showed metastasis to both PVLN and non-PVLN (Group 4), PVLN (Groups 2 and 4), or PVLN and/or non-PVLN (Groups 2–4) as an independent prognosticator for cancer-specific mortality and overall survival. There were also insignificant (P = 0.096) and significant (P = 0.036) differences in cancer-specific survival and overall survival, respectively, between Group 3 versus Group 4, and the trend of the latter was confirmed by subset multivariate analysis (hazard ratio = 3.769; P = 0.099). Worse prognosis was observed in bladder cancer patients with isolated PVLN metastasis (vs. pN0 disease especially for cancer-specific survival), PVLN metastasis with or without non-PVLN metastasis (vs. pN0 disease), and concurrent PVLN and non-PVLN metastases (vs. PVLN-negative/non-PVLN-positive disease especially for overall survival). These findings indicate the importance of thorough histopathological assessment of PVLNs in radical cystectomy specimens.
Cryoablation of a Symptomatic Chest Wall Desmoid Tumor Underneath a Silicone Breast Implant

Desmoid tumors are locally aggressive tumors that have a high rate of reoccurrence, even after resection. Percutaneous cryoablation is an effective alternative treatment with less associated risk. A patient in the fifth decade of life with a history of ductal carcinoma-in-situ, status post bilateral mastectomy and silicone implant placement, presented with a palpable mass in the left breast, core biopsy proven to be a desmoid tumor underneath the implant. The patient underwent two cryoablation procedures in a six-month period. During both procedures part of the implant was included in the ablation zone without any negative effects on the implant. Cryoablation is a feasible treatment option for desmoid tumors adjacent to silicone breast implants.
"$231 … to pull a string!!!" American IUD users' reasons for IUD self-removal: An analysis of internet forums.

Abstract Objective The perspectives and experiences of intrauterine device (IUD) users who consider IUD self-removal are largely unknown. This study describes the reasons for IUD self-removal as documented in internet forums by IUD users discussing self-removal. Study design This qualitative study used an internet search strategy to document IUD users’ reasons for self-removal in the United States. We employed a content analysis of online data using inductive and deductive qualitative techniques to examine the reasons why IUD users consider self-removal. Results Search results initially identified 235 websites, of which 28 had online health or parenting forums with content related to IUD self-removal. Individual websites contained between 1 and 637 posts by between 1 and 454 individual users. IUD users described a variety of reasons for IUD discontinuation including undesired symptoms or side effects as well as planning for pregnancy. IUD users discussed difficulties accessing provider-removal because of cost or lack of appointment availability. IUD users also discussed how reading about others’ successful self-removal experiences or approval by medical providers made self-removal a feasible or acceptable option. Conclusions Some IUD users utilize online forums for advice about IUD removal, and attempt IUD self-removal due to side effects or because they desire pregnancy. Lack of access to a provider led some patients to attempt self-removal who may have preferred provider-removal. Implications For those who prefer self-removal, anticipatory counseling from a clinician regarding self-removal might be useful and reassuring. Improving access to self-removal may help preserve reproductive autonomy for those who face barriers to IUD removal in the clinical setting.
Associations between sleep and cognitive performance in a racially/ethnically diverse cohort: the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation.

Study objectives To determine whether actigraphy-assessed indices of sleep are associated with cognitive performance in women, and explore whether these associations vary by race/ethnicity. Methods Participants were 1,126 postmenopausal community-dwelling females (mean age 65 years) from the observational Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN); 25% were black, 46% white, 13% Chinese, 11% Japanese, and 5% Hispanic. Actigraphy-assessed sleep measures included total sleep time, wake after sleep onset, and fragmentation. Cognitive measures included immediate and delayed verbal memory, working memory, and information processing speed. All measures were assessed in conjunction with SWAN annual visit 15. Results Across the sample, after covariate adjustment, greater wake after sleep onset and fragmentation were concurrently associated with slower information processing speed. Black participants had significantly worse sleep relative to other race/ethnic groups. Significant race/sleep interactions were observed; in black, but not white, participants, greater fragmentation was concurrently associated with worse verbal memory and slower information processing speed, and greater wake after sleep onset was concurrently associated with slower information processing speed. Sleep-cognitive performance associations were not different in Chinese and Japanese participants relative to white participants. Conclusions Greater wakefulness and fragmentation during sleep are concurrently associated with slower information processing. Sleep continuity impacted concurrent cognitive performance in black, but not white, women. This effect may not have been detected in white women because their sleep was largely within the normal range. Future longitudinal studies in diverse samples are critical to further understand whether race/ethnicity moderates the influence of sleep on cognitive performance.
Organizing a Business Law Department Within a Law School

This article argues that legal education needs to get its act together by getting organized. Unlike the rest of the university, law schools are over a century behind in recognizing the need for the greater organization that departments can provide. Specialization, which did not exist many years ago, has become so universal that some members of any faculty either cannot understand or care about, much less govern wisely, what goes on around them. Ignorance is compounded by non-professional agendas driven by ideologies and interdisciplinary interests. One probable result of disorganization in legal education has been a decline in bar passage rates and enrollments. This article provides a road map to a cure.
User-Centric Operational Decision-Making in Distributed Information Retrieval

Information specialists in enterprises and consumers on the Internet regularly use Distributed Information Retrieval (DIR) systems that query a large number of Information Retrieval (IR) systems, merge the retrieved results and display them to users. There can be considerable heterogeneity in the quality of results returned by different IR servers. Further, since different servers handle collections of different sizes, have different processing and bandwidth capacities, there can be considerable heterogeneity in their response times. The broker in the distributed IR system thus has to decide which servers to query, how long to wait for responses and which retrieved results to display based on the benefits and costs imposed on users. The benefit of querying more servers and waiting longer is the ability to retrieve more documents. The costs may be in the form of access fees charged by IR servers or user's cost associated with waiting for the servers to respond. We formulate the broker's decision problem as a stochastic mixed integer program. We present closed-form results for the optimal query set and wait time in the special case when the relevance scores and response times of the IR servers are independent and identically distributed. When servers are heterogeneous, we present a simulations-based optimization technique and demonstrate how the optimal query set and wait time may be determined. The technique is computationally efficient and can be used to generate decision rules for source selection and query termination that are relatively easy to implement. We use data gathered from two different contexts - a DIR system that queries IR engines of several US federal agencies and a comparison shopping engine that queries multiple stores for price and product information - to validate our technique. Our research demonstrates that user satisfaction can be considerably improved by modeling user utility and incorporating historical information on performance of the IR servers.
How Do Gender, Sexuality, and Age Impact Perceptions of Teacher Sexual Misconduct? An Intersectional Vignette-Based Study:

In this study we investigate the intersecting impacts of perpetrators’ gender, sexuality, and age on perceptions of teacher sexual misconduct. When the teacher was a woman, respondents perceived th...
Accelerometry to study fine-scale activity of invasive Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in the wild

The establishment of Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in Everglades National Park, Florida, USA, has been connected to a > 90% decline in the mesomammal population in the park and is a major threat to native reptile and bird populations. Efforts to control this population are underway, but are hampered by a lack of information about fine-scale activity cycles and ecology of these cryptic animals in the wild. We aimed to establish a technique for monitoring the activity of Burmese pythons in the wild using acceleration data loggers (ADLs), while attempting to identify any behavioral patterns that could be used to help manage this invasive species in the Greater Everglades and South Florida. We obtained continuous acceleration and temperature data from four wild snakes over periods of 19 to 95 days (mean 54 ± 33 days). Snakes spent 86% of their time at rest and 14% of their time active, including transiting between locations. All snakes showed at least one period of continuous transiting lasting 10 h or more, with one animal transiting continuously for a period of 58.5 h. Acceleration data logger-derived transiting bout duration was significantly correlated with the distance snakes traveled per hour for two snakes that also carried GPS loggers. Snakes were most active in midday or early-night depending on individual and time of year, but all snakes were least likely to be active in the early mornings (0400–0700 h local time). Very little movement took place at temperatures below 14 °C or above 24 °C, with most movement taking place between 15° and 20 °C. One animal showed a highly unusual rolling event that may be indicative of a predation attempt, but this could not be confirmed. Fine-scale activity and some behaviors were apparent from ADL data, making ADLs a potentially valuable, unbiased tool for monitoring large-bodied snakes in the wild. Snakes spent the majority of their time resting, but also moved continuously for several hours at a time during bouts of transiting. Results suggest that individuals may shift their diel activity pattern based on season. Understanding seasonal differences in activity levels can improve the accuracy of population estimates, help detect range expansion, and improve managers’ ability to find and capture individuals.
N-1-1 contingency-constrained unit commitment with renewable integration and corrective actions

Meeting the customer’s power demands is crucial for energy companies, even when unexpected and consecutive failures are present. This task has considerably increased its complexity due to the high integration of renewable energies and their intermittent behaviors. Therefore, it is important to achieve reliable power supply based on a criterion closer to real-life system operations and capable of addressing consecutive failures. The N-1-1 contingency involves the loss of a single transmission line or generation unit, followed by systems adjustments. Afterward, the power system experiences a subsequent loss of an additional generation unit or transmission line. This paper presents a power system unit commitment problem considering the N-1-1 reliability criterion with operations compliance check on economic dispatch and power flows under contingency states and renewable energy integration. Corrective actions are also included to determine the time that the failed components are restored. To address the complexity caused by renewable energy integration, the reliable unit commitment is achieved under the worst-case renewable output. The formulation results in an extremely large-scale adaptive robust mixed-integer linear programming model. For an efficient solution, a variation of the nested column-and-constraint generation algorithm is designed. Besides using the susceptance and phase angles to model the power flow, the linear sensitivity factors are also applied for improving the computational performance. The proposed models and algorithms are evaluated on modified IEEE 6-bus, 14-bus, and 118-bus test systems to confirm their effectiveness.
Negative charge in the RACK1 loop broadens the translational capacity of the human ribosome

Although the roles of initiation factors, RNA binding proteins, and RNA elements in regulating translation are well defined, how the ribosome functionally diversifies remains poorly understood. In their human hosts, poxviruses phosphorylate serine 278 (S278) at the tip of a loop domain in the small subunit ribosomal protein RACK1, thereby mimicking negatively charged residues in the RACK1 loops of dicot plants and protists to stimulate translation of transcripts with 5' poly(A) leaders. However, how a negatively charged RACK1 loop affects ribosome structure and its broader translational output is not known. Here, we show that although ribotoxin-induced stress signaling and stalling on poly(A) sequences are unaffected, negative charge in the RACK1 loop alters the swivel motion of the 40S head domain in a manner similar to several internal ribosome entry sites (IRESs), confers resistance to various protein synthesis inhibitors, and broadly supports noncanonical modes of translation.
Secondary science teachers’ implementation of a curricular intervention when teaching with global climate models

In the past decade, emphasis on promoting “climate literacy” in K-16 science classrooms has increased. Teachers play a critical role in cultivating these opportunities, especially in secondary scie...
The Molecular Weight Dependence of the Splay and Bend Elastic Constants of a Polymer Liquid Crystal

The molecular weight dependence of the splay and bend elastic constants of a liquid crystal has been measured utilizing the Frederick’s distortion of homeotropically aligned specimens in a slowly varying magnetic field. The splay modulus (K11) is found to be much greater than the bend elastic constant (K33) for three polymer molecular weights examined. Large K11 values for polymer liquid crystals are in accord with recent theoretical predictions. The molecular weight dependence of k11/K33 observed in the polymer/solvent system of this study is, however, contrary to theory. The discrepancy may be due to substantial macromolecular associations which make the molecular length a difficult parameter to define.
The chemistry of human transcortin. The effects of pH, urea, salt, and temperature on the binding of cortisol and progesterone.

Abstract The interaction of cortisol and progesterone with pure transcortin was investigated. The temperature dependence of cortisol and progesterone binding is a result of the predominantly negative enthalpy of binding which suggests a very good fit between ligand and protein such that the bonds formed are of the van der Waals type. The optimal pH of cortisol (8.0) and progesterone (8.5) binding suggests involvement of cysteine, histidine, and/or tyrosine residues in the binding process. Transcortin is irreversibly denatured at pH 4.0. The effect of sodium chloride on the binding of both steroids is small. At lower sodium chloride concentrations (less than 0.15 m ), binding decreases somewhat with decreasing salt concentration. Urea produces a progressive decrease in the association constants of both steroids which is completely reversible up to 2.0 m and 30% reversible at 3.0 m . Scatchard analysis of cortisol binding in the presence of a constant amount of progesterone and vice versa confirms earlier data obtained on plasma that cortisol and progesterone do not bind at two independent sites. It is not possible, however, to decide whether they bind at the same site or at two interdependent (interacting) sites.
Differential release of β-NAD(+) and ATP upon activation of enteric motor neurons in primate and murine colons.

Background The purinergic component of enteric inhibitory neurotransmission is important for normal motility in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Controversies exist about the purine(s) responsible for inhibitory responses in GI muscles: adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) has been assumed to be the purinergic neurotransmitter released from enteric inhibitory motor neurons, however recent studies demonstrate that β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (β-NAD+) and ADP-ribose mimic the inhibitory neurotransmitter better than ATP in primate and murine colons. The study was designed to clarify the sources of purines in colons of Cynomolgus monkeys and C57BL/6 mice.
Ischemic preconditioning attenuates hypoperfusion after retinal ischemia in rats.

PURPOSE. Retinal blood flow (RBF) was measured in rats to test the hypotheses that hypoperfusion follows severe ischemia in the retina and that ischemic preconditioning (IPC) attenuates this change in blood flow. METHODS. Male Sprague‐Dawley rats were anesthetized with halothane and mechanically ventilated by tracheostomy to maintain normocarbia and normoxia. Retinal ischemia was induced for 0, 5, 30, 60, 75, or 90 minutes. RBF was measured 60 and 150 minutes after the end of ischemia using the radioactive microsphere blood flow method, and electroretinography was performed during the first 120 minutes after ischemia to quantitate the extent of functional recovery. Additional groups received IPC (5 minutes of ischemia) 24 hours before 30, 60, or 75 minutes of ischemia. RESULTS. Control (0 minutes’ ischemia) RBF was 22 6 3 ml/100 g per minute (mean 6 SE). At 60 minutes after 5, 30, 60, 75, or 90 minutes of ischemia, RBF was 15 6 2 (NS), 11 6 1, 8 6 2, 8 6 1, and 10 6 1 ml/100 g per minute, respectively (significance, P , 0.05 versus control). At 150 minutes after 5, 30, 60, 75, or 90 minutes of ischemia, RBF was 18 6 3 (NS), 13 6 1, 12 6 3, 12 6 2, and 11 6 1 ml/100 g per minute respectively (significance, P , 0.05 versus control). With prior IPC, RBF after 30 and 60 minutes of ischemia was 21 6 1 and 19 6 3 ml/100 g per minute (both NS compared with control; P , 0.05 compared with 30 or 60 minutes of ischemia without IPC). When ischemia was 75 minutes in duration, IPC did not prevent postischemic hypoperfusion. The extent of recovery of the electroretinogram b wave was inversely related to the length of ischemia. CONCLUSIONS. Postischemic hypoperfusion is present in the rat retina 60 minutes after ischemia, does not resolve by 150 minutes after ischemia, and is attenuated by IPC when ischemia is 60 minutes or less in duration. Maintenance of postischemic perfusion in the retina may be one of the mechanisms involved in the neuroprotection afforded by IPC. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1999;40: 2925‐2931)